It has been revealed that a total of 9 people died in the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.
Kobe’s private Sikorsky S-76 crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, near the home of Kourtney Kardashian.
The helicopter immediately caught fire after coming down at around 10am on Sunday morning, January 26. All onboard died.
Flight data shows the aircraft appeared to get into trouble above the LA Zoo where it circled at a very low altitude and air traffic control audio suggests conditions were worsening in the run up to the crash.
Initial reports claimed five people had been killed, but the death toll was raised to nine. The dead include Kobe, 41, his daughter Gianna, 13, the pilot, named as Ara Zobayan, John Altobelli – a baseball coach at Orange County College -, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa. Girls basketball coach Christina Mauser was also killed in crash.
The occupants of the ill-fated chopper were said to have been headed to Mamba Academy – which Kobe Bryant founded – in Thousand Oaks for a youth tournament involving Kobe’s daughter Gigi and her teammate Alyssa.
The deaths came as a shock and the world is still reeling from it, with most people taking to social media to pay tributes and express their pain at the loss.
