Basketball Star Kobe Bryant, Others Die In A Helicopter Crash

US Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and 8 others including his daughter Gianna died Sunday in a helicopter crash in California.

The 41 years old basketball star and his 13 years old daughter were heading to a basketball game in Thousand Oaks when the helicopter crashed in the mountains in what a National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB member Jennifer Homendy described as a "high energy impact crash."

Visibility was low the morning of the accident. And according to Homendy, the pilot Ara Zobayan told air traffic control he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer. Those were the pilot's last words before the crash on a hillside in Calabasas, California.

Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna's teammate  was on the helicopter with her father, Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli and her mother, Keri Altobelli. 

Messages of condolence poured in from all over the world. President Trump tweeted:

"Kobe Bryant, despite being one of the truly great basketball players of all time, was just getting started in life. 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. Melania and I send our warmest condolences to Vanessa and the wonderful Bryant family. May God be with you all!"

Kobe Bryant leaves behind wife Vanessa, daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and seven-month-old Capri. Also mourning are his sisters, Sharia Bryant, Shayla Bryant and father Joe Bryant.