A routine night of news coverage turned tragic in Los Angeles after an NBC Los Angeles helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth suburbs.
The crash killed three people, including photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw.
The station’s NewsChopper4 was covering a deadly bus crash when it went down shortly before 19:00 local time between two commercial buildings.
Fire spread to four vehicles and two storage containers, prompting more than 70 firefighters to respond.
An unidentified person on the ground was also killed, while two others were taken to hospital.
The helicopter was reporting on an earlier collision in which an SUV struck a city bus, killing two people and injuring six.
Several news helicopters were covering the scene at the time.
Crash Draws Tributes
During emotional live coverage, NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams said staff had lost contact with the crew before receiving confirmation of the crash.
“We knew it was a news chopper,” Williams said.
Tributes quickly followed. CBS Los Angeles assignment editor Mike Rogers called the helicopter community a “small group of people.”
He said it was devastating to lose colleagues and friends.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was “absolutely devastated”.
With the cause of the crash still unclear, investigators now face a difficult question.
What went wrong on a helicopter simply trying to cover the news?
