Christina Mauser, an assistant basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Orange County, was also on the helicopter.

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The helicopter was travelling to Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, where he was to coach his daughter's team in a tournament.

Local Jerry Kocharian witnessed the crash. He was outside when he heard a helicopter struggling overhead. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom and a "big fireball" he told the LA Times.

Aerial footage shows emergency crews working at the scene, with smoke billowing from the crash site.

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The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

"Our team will be looking at the history of the pilot and whatever crew was on board," said Jennifer Homendy, a member of the board.

Bryant was a husband to Vanessa and the father to four daughters, Natalia, 17, Gianna, 13, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 1.

Gianna had inherited her father's love of basketball and he affectionately called her "Mambacita" – a play on his own nickname "The Black Mamba" – for following in his footsteps. The pair was last month photographed together enjoying a Lakers game at the Staples Centre, the team's home base.

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Bryant retired in 2016 as the NBA's third all-time leading scorer with 33,643 points and was expected to be inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on the first ballot this US summer.

He was surpassed on the all-time at the weekend by another Laker, Lebron James.

His final tweet, a nod to Lebron, read: "Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644"

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Tributes for Bryant are pouring in on social media. Former teammate Shaquille O'Neal said he had "no words to express the pain I'm going through", Michael Jordan described him as "like a little brother" and Lakers legend Magic Johnson told the Los Angeles Times "we [both] loved being a Laker".

A sombre mood hung over the NBA as matches began amid shock and tributes to Bryant. The Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs started their game by each holding the ball for 24 seconds, accepting intentional shot clock violations, in honour of Bryant who wore No. 24.

In Denver, the Nuggets held a moment of silence before the tip-off, with fans chanting, "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!" right after.

LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers spoke through tears when asked about Bryant. The pair were fierce rivals when Rivers coached the Boston Celtics against Bryant’s LA Lakers in the NBA Finals in 2008 and 2010. “He means a lot to me. He was such a great opponent," Rivers said.

The Grammy Awards, which are being hosted in the Staples Centre Monday morning Australian time, opened with a moment of silence. Alicia Keys also spoke of his loss before singing a tribute to Bryant alongside Boyz II Men.

"We're all feeling crazy sadness right now ... we never imagined in a million years we would have to start the show like this," she said.

Fans are also commemorating the star with a makeshift memorial outside the venue.

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Bryant, who patterned his game after Michael Jordan, entered the NBA straight out of high school in 1996.

By his second season, he had earned his first of 18 all-star selections. By his fourth season, he had teamed with Shaquille O'Neal to win the first of three consecutive championships.

Although his partnership with O'Neal didn't last, Bryant went on to greater heights after their 2004 parting.

He won two scoring titles in the years that followed, and he famously scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history.

Bryant's 2008 pairing with Pau Gasol produced two more championships in 2009 and 2010, with Bryant winning Finals MVP honors both times.

A famous competitor known for championing his ruthless "Mamba Mentality," Bryant suffered a career-altering Achilles' injury in 2013. He recovered to play three more seasons, retiring in 2016 after 20 seasons with the Lakers.

In the last game of his career, Bryant scored 60 points in perhaps the most memorable career finale in NBA history.

In retirement, Bryant has written children's books and produced animated stories, while also pursuing assorted media and business projects with his Granity Studios.

With Washington Post