Kobe Bryant: US mourns basketball legend killed in helicopter crash

Loading

News Courtesy by: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51263718

US basketball legend Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash in California, sparking an outpouring of grief from fans around the world.

Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, were among the nine killed when the aircraft came down in Calabasas.

There were no survivors from Sunday’s crash which happened in foggy weather.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, played for the LA Lakers throughout his career and is considered one of the greatest players in the game’s history.

Tributes from celebrities, politicians and fellow sports stars have been pouring in, many expressing shock at his sudden death. Moments of silence have been observed at basketball games across the US.

Fans gathered at a makeshift memorial for Bryant in front of the Los Angeles Lakers’ stadium at the Staples Center on Sunday, laying flowers and basketballs in memory of the star. ‎

A wall covered in tributes to Kobe Bryant in ManilaImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Mourners left flowers and wrote tributes to Bryant on the wall of the new hall

Bryant was also remembered at the Grammy Awards which were held at the Staples Center.

“We’re all feeling crazy sadness right now,” said Grammys host Alicia Keys.

“Because earlier today Los Angeles, America and the whole wide world lost a hero. We’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.”

Media caption Alicia Keys and Lizzo lead tributes to Kobe Bryant at the Grammys

The NBA issued a statement saying it was “devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna”.

“For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning,” it said.

There have been tributes from as far away as the Philippines – where a new basketball centre named after Bryant opened just hours before his death – and Italy, where Bryant spent part of his childhood.

Luca Vecchi – mayor of Reggio Emilia, the town where Bryant lived – paid tribute to the star on Facebook, writing that the city will remember him forever.

What do we know about the crash?

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the helicopter’s manifest indicated that nine people were on board when it crashed, raising the number from five in earlier statements by officials.

Map of Kobe Bryant's helicopter's flight path
Presentational white space

Coroners have not officially named the victims. Family members and colleagues however said John Altobelli, coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team, was among the passengers, along with his wife Keri and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa – who played with Bryant’s daughter, Gianna.

Christina Mauser, a basketball coach at Gianna’s school, was also on board, her husband wrote on Facebook.

In a statement on Sunday afternoon, the City of Calabasas said it heard the news “with great sadness”.

“The aircraft went down in a remote field off Las Virgenes around 10:00 this morning. Nobody on the ground was hurt,” it added.

Investigators are still trying to find out the cause of the crash. But conditions were foggy, and local police had grounded their helicopters due to the poor weather.

Kurt Deetz, who has flown helicopters carrying Bryant in the past, told the Los Angeles Times that weather was a more likely cause of the accident than a mechanical issue.

“The likelihood of a catastrophic twin engine failure on that aircraft – it just doesn’t happen,” he said.

Media captionSite where basketball legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash

Gavin Masak, who lives nearby, told CBS News of the moment the helicopter crashed.

“It wasn’t exactly like an explosion sound but it was like a loud boom. It sounded like a helicopter, but it sounded like a jet, like it was loud, so I went inside and told my dad what was happening. So when I came out I saw smoke on the hill but it wasn’t like a big, black cloud of smoke, it was just grey,” he said.

Other eyewitnesses told celebrity news site TMZ they heard the helicopter’s engine sputtering before it went down.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department shared pictures from the scene of the accident, showing a fire truck and smoke emerging from the hills.

The National Transportation Safety Board identified the crashed helicopter as a Sikorsky S-76B and said it was sending a team to investigate the crash.

Officers closed roads in the area to stop people trying to get to the crash site.

Bryant was known for taking his helicopter to beat traffic in Los Angeles.

Why was Kobe Bryant so famous?

Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired in April 2016.

His achievements include being the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and two-time NBA Finals MVP. He was also NBA scoring champion twice and a two-time Olympic champion.

Media caption When Bryant scored 60 points in his final LA Lakers game

He famously scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history.

He also won an Oscar for best short animated film in 2018 for Dear Basketball, a five-minute film based on a love letter to the sport he had written in 2015.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have three other daughters, Natalia, Bianca and Capri.

Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2003 by a 19-year-old woman working at a Colorado resort. He denied the allegation, saying the two had consensual sex. The case was dropped after the accuser refused to testify in court.

He later apologized, saying he recognized that “she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did”. A subsequent civil suit was settled out of court.

What’s been the reaction outside sport?

Tributes for the sports star poured in on social media following news of the crash – from fellow players, but also from politicians and entertainers.

“Terrible news,” tweeted US President Donald Trump. “He loved his family so much, and had such strong passion for the future. The loss of his beautiful daughter, Gianna, makes this moment even more devastating.”

Former US President Barack Obama described Bryant as “a legend on the court” and said he was “just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act”.

Pop star Mariah Carey said she was in shock, while rapper Kanye West tweeted his appreciation for “the life you’ve lived and all the inspiration you gave”.

“This is absolutely terrible. Everyone is numb,” American actress and model Chrissy Teigen tweeted.

La Lakers fans at a vigil outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, 26 January 2020Image copyright REUTERS

Related posts

19 Thoughts to “Kobe Bryant: US mourns basketball legend killed in helicopter crash”

  1. tadalafil 5mg cost tadalafil 10mg ca ed solutions

  2. accutane cheap buy amoxicillin 250mg generic purchase azithromycin generic

  3. buy azipro 500mg online cheap order gabapentin 100mg pills buy neurontin 600mg online cheap

  4. cost lasix 100mg albuterol oral ventolin inhalator cost

  5. buy ramipril generic buy altace generic order arcoxia pill

  6. order vardenafil generic levitra 20mg ca plaquenil us

  7. buy levitra without a prescription where to buy plaquenil without a prescription hydroxychloroquine 400mg oral

  8. buy cheap temovate buspirone 10mg tablet purchase amiodarone online

  9. order benicar 20mg generic calan where to buy depakote order online

  10. brand temovate buy amiodarone 100mg order amiodarone 200mg without prescription

  11. diamox 250mg drug diamox price azathioprine 25mg price

  12. generic digoxin 250 mg molnupiravir 200mg pill molnunat 200mg sale

  13. No matter if some one searches for his required thing, thus he/she desires
    to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.

    Feel free to surf to my webpage : mp3juice

  14. naprosyn drug buy naproxen online lansoprazole pills

  15. No matter if some one searches for his required thing, thus he/she desires\r\nto be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.\r\n\r\nFeel free to surf to my webpage : ytmp3

  16. order coreg 25mg generic buy aralen sale buy generic chloroquine 250mg

  17. buy proventil without a prescription pyridium 200mg oral phenazopyridine 200 mg brand

  18. generic singulair 5mg singulair 10mg usa buy dapsone generic

Leave a Comment