Three people have died, and two others were taken to hospital after a television news helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, fire authorities said, according to the BBC.

NBC Los Angeles confirmed the aircraft was its NewsChopper4, which also served Telemundo 52, and had been covering a separate fatal bus crash in the area when it went down just before 7pm local time between two commercial buildings, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told the BBC.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it was not yet clear how many people had been on board the helicopter, and no victims had been named, the BBC reported. Fire from the crash spread to four vehicles and two storage containers, and more than 70 firefighters responded to the scene, according to fire officials cited by the BBC.

NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams confirmed on air that the station had lost contact with its helicopter crew before receiving confirmation of the crash, the BBC reported. LAFD Captain Branden Silverman told a local CBS affiliate that one patient found outside the helicopter was declared deceased on the scene.

The crash occurred as several news helicopters were covering the earlier bus collision, in which an SUV struck a city bus in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring six others, CBS reported.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division and city and state officials, including Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom, offered condolences to the victims' families and the NBC4 news team on social media, according to the BBC. The National Transportation Safety Board's involvement in the investigation was reported to be pending further details at the time of the BBC's report.

Source: BBC News