Three people were killed and one person was hospitalized Tuesday night in a fiery helicopter crash in Chatsworth, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
The crash was reported just before 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue. The LAFD said the helicopter went down between two commercial buildings. The crash resulted in a fire, damaging four vehicles and two storage containers in the area.
Details about the deceased, such as their age and gender, were not released.
NBCLA has confirmed the helicopter is a news helicopter. Several TV news helicopters were in the west San Fernando Valley community reporting on a crash involving a Metro bus.
LAFD public information officer Brandon Silverman said firefighters were unable to determine the helicopter’s tail identification number, an alphanumeric code that is unique to an aircraft.
“From the helicopter itself, it’s pretty well destroyed,” Silverman said. “So we are going to have to go through the rubble and see how many victims there were on board, as well as identify the helicopter; we couldn’t even see a tail.”
A National Transportation Safety Bureau spokesman told NBC News the federal agency is gathering information on the helicopter crash and will decide soon whether to send investigators.
The cause of the crash is unclear.