Basketball legend and NBA star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26. Bryant was travelling in a private helicopter - Sikorsky S-76, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, seven other passengers and crew when the helicopter crashed into a rugged hillside in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles and burst into flames. The LA County Sheriff's Department has reported that this accident has killed all the passengers aboard the Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter including 41 year old Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter. Sheriff Alex Villanueva reported that nine people were on board the helicopter when it crashed, however, the officials have not yet confirmed the names of the victims other than Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Though names of the deceased were not confirmed, sources reported that John Altobelli, coach of the Orange Coast College basketball team was one of 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 the helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board has already commissioned a team of 18 investigators to probe the causes of the crash. The NBA star’s death sent shockwaves throughout the world with eminent personalities including former US President Barack Obama mourning his death. Kobe Bryant, a shooting guard, played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list as well. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons
Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 26, 2020
