A television news helicopter crashed in a fireball Tuesday evening while covering a separate deadly Metro bus collision in Chatsworth, leaving three people dead and another hospitalized.

The aircraft came down shortly before 7 p.m. in a parking area at 9151 N. Mason Avenue, only blocks from the earlier wreck. Flames spread to nearby vehicles and storage containers before firefighters brought the fire under control. One of the people killed was on the ground, according to local reporting.

Officials had not yet publicly identified the victims or established how many people were aboard the helicopter. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that 56 firefighters responded to the 6:57 p.m. alarm at 9151 Mason Avenue in the Chatsworth neighborhood. Four automobiles and two storage containers were damaged, but the fire did not spread into any structure.

Four patients were assessed at the aircraft-crash scene. Three were pronounced dead and one was taken to a hospital in unknown condition. The department stated that the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration would handle the investigation. The cause of the crash remained undetermined.

Early video showed the helicopter engulfed in flames as thick black smoke rose over the San Fernando Valley. The wreckage concentrated between commercial properties near Mason Avenue. Firefighters confirmed the incident involved no wider structural fire despite the intense flames visible in initial footage, and damage was contained to the aircraft, four vehicles, and two storage containers.

The Los Angeles Fire Department listed the response as Incident 1526 and noted the aircraft-crash scene involved four assessed patients. Separately, an SUV collided with a Metro bus near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue, resulting in eight patients: two died at the scene and six were transported to hospitals.

The helicopter was covering that collision when it crashed nearby, triggering a sprawling emergency response across Chatsworth with roads closed and crews moving between both fatal scenes. Authorities provided no early theory for the loss of control, emphasizing ongoing investigations into the aircraft’s flight path, maintenance history, communications, and other evidence before conclusions could be reached.

Confirmed fatalities from both incidents total five people, with one additional individual hospitalized from the helicopter crash scene.