Two of the three people killed in a fiery NBC news helicopter crash have been identified as more details emerge about the crew aboard the aircraft.
The helicopter was providing aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 when it crashed Tuesday evening in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Three people were killed in the accident, while another person was hospitalized.
The two people aboard the helicopter were identified as NBC Los Angeles aerial reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, both of whom worked for Angel City Air. The third person who died was on the ground when the helicopter crashed.
Moreno was a reporter assigned to aerial coverage, while Marciniw was the pilot operating the helicopter. Their deaths were later confirmed by colleagues at NBC Los Angeles, who shared condolences for the victims and their families.
The helicopter had been covering an earlier deadly collision involving a Metro bus when it went down shortly before 7 p.m. The aircraft crashed into a parking area, where the impact caused a fire and damaged several vehicles and storage containers.
The earlier crash that brought the news helicopters to the area had already killed two people and injured at least six others. The NBC helicopter was covering that incident when the separate aviation accident occurred nearby, turning an already tragic evening into an even larger disaster.
Emergency crews responded to the helicopter crash and extinguished the fire. Two people were hospitalized, although details about their conditions were not immediately available.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have opened investigations into the crash. Authorities have not yet announced what caused the helicopter to go down.
NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said they were deeply saddened by the fatal accident and extended condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who died. The identities of the two people aboard the helicopter are now public, while investigators continue examining the circumstances of the crash.