Kobe Bryant’s body identified as all nine victims recovered from crash site
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All nine bodies have been recovered from the scene of the helicopter crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
Authorities in Los Angeles said the pilot and eight passengers had all been retrieved after a “very difficult” operation, which was hindered by the “rugged terrain” of the hillside where the chopper went down on Sunday.
LA Lakers icon Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among those aboard the doomed aircraft, along with the pilot and six other passengers. Others killed included Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, who played on the same basketball team as Gianna.
The girls’ coach Christina Mauser also died.
A handout photo made available 29 January 2020 by the US National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, showing NTSB investigators examining 27 January 2020 the wreckage as part of the NTSB’s investigation of the crash of a Sikorsky S76B helicopter near Calabasas, California, Jan. 26. EPA-EFE/NTSB / JAMES ANDERSON HANDOUT
Bryant – considered one of the greatest NBA stars of all time – and Gianna were on their way to a girls’ basketball tournament at a sports academy, where he was to have coached his daughter’s team that day.
A woman writes on a large board as fans gather at LA Live entertainment complex, across the street from the Staples Center – home of the Los Angeles Lakers – to pay their respects for late former Lakers player Kobe Bryant, in Los Angeles, California, USA, 28 January 2020. EPA-EFE/ETIENNE LAURENT
The chopper went down amid heavy cloud and fog that had grounded police helicopters in the area.
A handout photo made available 29 January 2020 by the US National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, showing NTSB investigator Carol Hogan examining 27 January 2020 the wreckage as part of the NTSB’s investigation of the crash of a Sikorsky S76B helicopter near Calabasas, California, Jan. 26. EPA-EFE/NTSB / JAMES ANDERSON HANDOUT
