NBC News Helicopter Crashes in Chatsworth, Killing Three

An NBC Los Angeles news helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, killing three people and injuring a fourth, the network said during a live broadcast.

Anchors on air identified the aircraft as the station's NewsChopper 4 helicopter. Anchor Colleen Williams told viewers that the station had lost contact with its crew before receiving confirmation that the chopper went down shortly before 7 pm in Chatsworth.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, four patients were assessed at the scene. Three were pronounced dead, while the fourth was taken to a local hospital in an unknown condition. The NBC anchors did not say how many people had been on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, the fire department said.

The helicopter went down after a vehicle collision earlier on Tuesday involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle in the same area, which killed at least two people. Several media reports said multiple television news helicopters were in the area covering the bus collision when the NBC helicopter crashed.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was devastated by the loss of life in both the helicopter crash and the bus collision in Chatsworth, and thanked emergency responders for their swift action.

NBC, which is owned by Comcast, and the Los Angeles Fire Department did not immediately respond to emailed requests for further details.