The Los Angeles Fire Department released 911 calls it received from people reporting the helicopter crash that killed former NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight others.
“I just heard a helicopter go over me,” one caller told dispatch. “It went over my head, it is thick in the clouds, and then I heard a pop, and it immediately stopped.”
Some of those who called reported seeing flames on the mountain where the helicopter crashed.
“A helicopter crashed into a mountain. We heard it, and now I’m looking at the flames,” a second caller said.
“We couldn’t see it and then we just heard a ‘boom,’” another added.
Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were traveling in a helicopter to a youth basketball game when the helicopter suddenly crashed in Calabasas, California, last week, killing all on board.
Two of Gianna’s teammates, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, were among those killed. Altobelli’s parents, John and Keri Altobelli, and Chester’s mother, Sarah Chester, also died in addition to the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
Bryant was a star player for the Los Angeles Lakers. He led the team to five championships and brought home the NBA Finals MVP award twice while being selected to the league all-star game 18 times.
