At least three people have been killed after a news helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Los Angeles near the scene of a fatal bus accident, officials have said.

The victims on board the NewsChopper 4 helicopter were identified by NBC Los Angeles as Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist, and pilot George Marciniw.

The other person killed was in the car park where the aircraft crashed, Captain Branden Silverman, a spokesman for the LA Fire Department, told reporters during a news conference.

Two people were taken to a hospital, said Rico A. Gross, a fire department battalion chief. No detail about their conditions was released.

Capt Silverman said the incident occurred just before 7pm local time (3am UK time) on the 9100-block of North Mason Avenue in Chatsworth.

The helicopter crashed into a car park near a storage building, causing a fire to break out, the fire department said.

At least four cars and two storage containers burned after the aircraft caught fire, which was quickly put out, according to officials. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

One person killed in the crash was outside in the car park, next to the commercial building, Capt Silverman told reporters.

The incident occurred after an earlier crash on Nordhoff Street - about a mile-and-a-half (1.6km) away - at 5.03pm local time involving an SUV and a bus in which two people were killed and six others were injured.

The helicopter was one of many aircraft covering the crash at the time of the incident, NBC Los Angeles reported earlier.

"We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we've just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper 4 went down just before 7 o'clock tonight in Chatsworth," said Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor.

"We're going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup," an emotional Ms Williams added.

The aircraft was operated by Angel City Air, an aerial production company, and affiliated with the station, which said earlier on the air that it had lost contact with those on board.

Ms Moreno joined the company's helicopter team in 2010 after graduating, NBC Los Angeles reported.

NBC4 and Telemundo, who used the aircraft for aerial news coverage, said they were "deeply saddened" in a joint statement.

More than 70 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, according to the fire department.

Capt Silverman described the aircraft as "pretty well destroyed" and said emergency teams were going to have to search through the rubble to determine how many victims were on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the cause of the incident.

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Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said she was "absolutely devastated by the loss of life", adding that "my heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash".

Ms Bass paid tribute to the emergency teams who "responded so quickly" and urged the public to stay away from the area while officials remained on the scene.

Governor Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both incidents and said in a post on X that "our hearts are with the victims and families".

(c) Sky News 2026: Three people killed after news helicopter crashes in Los Angeles