The story

A helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening just before 7 p.m., killing three people and injuring one, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The aircraft crashed between two commercial buildings near the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue. One victim was a passerby in a parking lot, according to LAFD Captain Branden Silverman. Two other people were declared dead at the scene. A fourth person was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.

The helicopter appeared to be a news helicopter, but authorities did not immediately confirm which outlet it belonged to. An NBC4 Los Angeles anchor said during a live broadcast that the station had lost contact with one of its helicopters but could not confirm anything other than that a television news helicopter had crashed. The crash sparked a fire that damaged four vehicles and two shipping containers before firefighters extinguished it.

The crash occurred near the scene of a separate deadly Metro bus crash in which two people were killed and others were injured. Fire and police personnel were already nearby and rushed to the helicopter crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were contacted to assist with the investigation.