Tragedy: Kobe Bryant, icon of the Los Angeles Lakers, has died

According to the American newspaper The New York Times, the helicopter had Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, one of her teammates and a parent.

The accident occurred over Calabasas, California, about 45 kilometers northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bryant was flying his private jet. The first reports were about four deaths, and the county sheriff later confirmed on Twitter that there were five on the helicopter and all of them lost their lives.

The cause and circumstances of the accident are being investigated by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). For now, the FAA has only stated that the crashed helicopter was a Sikorsky S76. Richard Winton, a reporter for the American newspaper Los Angeles Times, recalled that during the tragedy, the surrounding mountains were covered with fog.

The Philadelphia-born legendary NBA player was 41, the father of four children. He retired from active sports in 2016 and was a basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years from 1996, winning the North American Professional Basketball League (NBA) five times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010). Twice (2009, 2010) he was also selected as the best player in the final, he was the best player in the league in 2008 and 18 times at the All Star Gala.

With the US national team in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, he was the best at the Olympics. In 2015, NBA leader Adam Silver praised him as one of the greatest players in the history of American basketball.

The United States was shocked by the tragedy, athletes, public figures said.

US President Donald Trump described the tragedy as "terrible news" on Twitter. Former US President Barack Obama called the basketball "legend" and Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor, said in a statement that Bryant had "made history" and "paved the way for a new generation of players."

(Source: sportrajongo.hu, m4sport, mti / Photo: pixabay, mti,)