Three people were killed after a news helicopter crashed between two buildings near the scene of a deadly bus collision in Los Angeles.
The aircraft came down in a parking lot between two warehouses at the intersection of Northoff Street and DeSoto Avenue in Chatsworth just before 7pm on Tuesday, near where an SUV crashed into a bus earlier in the night.
Two people had been killed in the bus crash, while six others were left injured.
The chopper appears to have landed on top of two shipping containers and several vehicles that were parked in the area.
The helicopter crash caused a massive blaze, with the Los Angeles Fire Department saying the flames threatened four vehicles nearby.
When firefighters finished extinguishing the fire, they were seen erecting a canopy over at least one body.
Authorities have since determined that three people were killed at the scene, including the two people onboard the helicopter and a pedestrian on the ground, while another was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.
Four vehicles and two storage containers were also damaged in the blaze, the Fire Department confirmed.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, and it has not yet been determined who was operating the helicopter or where it had come from.
But a longtime NBC 4 Los Angeles anchor confirmed that the chopper was a ‘television news helicopter,’ noting: ‘We are not in contact with our television news helicopter.’
‘We have lost contact with our people,’ Colleen Williams said through tears.
A helicopter has crashed near the scene of a bus collision in Los Angeles, sparking a massive blaze that threatened four vehicles nearby
The helicopter came down near the intersection of Northoff Street and DeSoto Avenue in Chatsworth just before 7pm on Tuesday
The news helicopter was apparently reporting on a fatal Metro bus crash nearby
‘The helicopter itself, it’s pretty well destroyed, so we are going to have to go through the rubble and see how many victims there were on board as well as identify the helicopter,’ LAFD Captain Branden Silverman told reporters at the scene, explaining that one of the victims was killed on the ground.
The crash came as local media outlets rushed to get aerial footage of the fatal bus crash, showing people running away from the scene as police cruisers sped toward the fiery explosion.
It appeared the bus was crossing the intersection at around 5pm when the SUV T-boned it, sending both vehicles onto the curb, ABC 7 reports.
Authorities are now looking into the possibility that one of the vehicles ran a red light.
Three people were killed at the scene, while others were rushed to local hospitals. The extent of the victims’ injuries remains unclear.
One of those killed was reportedly ejected from the bus, while the others were said to have been onboard the city bus.
An LA Urban Search and Rescue Team was also seen extricating multiple people from the bus, with at least one person found stuck underneath the vehicle, KTLA reports.
She was eventually freed and quickly loaded into an ambulance in unknown condition with what crews on the scene described as ‘crushing’ injuries.’
Firefighters are pictured responding to the helicopter crash on Tuesday evening
Four vehicles and two storage containers were damaged in the blaze
Soon after the bus crash, images emerged showing the front half of the Ford SUV embedded in the side of the Metro bus.
When the vehicle was then removed, a gaping hole was visible in the bus’s side, according to the Los Angeles Times.
At the height of the response, there were 56 Fire Department personnel on scene, spokesperson Jennifer Middleton told the LA Times.
The intersection where the two fatal crashes occurred will now be closed for ‘quite some time,’ she noted.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the helicopter crash.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
