Three people were killed Tuesday, Sept. 15, when NBC4's NewsChopper4 crashed into an industrial lot in Chatsworth while covering a separate fatal bus collision nearby.

The helicopter went down just before 7 p.m. in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue, landing between two commercial buildings and igniting parked cars and storage containers, The Wrap reported. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed three people were declared dead at the scene. A fourth person was taken to a local hospital in unknown condition.

NBC4 aerial reporter Eliana "Eli" Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were aboard the helicopter, according to the New York Post. A third victim was on the ground outside the helicopter when it crashed, LAFD Capt. Branden Silverman told reporters.

Moreno, a Chapman University graduate known as "Eli in the Heli" on Instagram, had flown aboard NewsChopper4 since about 2018 or 2019. Marciniw had logged more than 14,000 flight hours in the helicopter.

The aircraft, a Eurocopter AS350B2 operated by Angel City Air for NBC4 and Telemundo 52, had been covering a collision about a mile and a half away. An SUV struck a Metro Route 166 bus near Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue around 5 p.m., according to NPR. That bus crash killed at least two people and injured six others.

The helicopter was hovering near Nordhoff Street when it suddenly lost altitude and plunged to the ground, the Post reported.

"The helicopter itself is pretty well destroyed, so we are going to have to go through the rubble and see how many victims there were on board," Silverman said at the scene, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Fifty-six firefighters responded. The fire damaged four automobiles and two storage containers but did not spread to any buildings.

NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams confirmed the aircraft's identity during a live broadcast. NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said in a joint statement that they were saddened by the fatal accident and extended condolences to the families of those killed.

Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference at the crash site Tuesday night. She called Sept. 15 "a very, very tragic day in Los Angeles" and said the city had lost five residents between the helicopter crash and the bus collision. Bass urged residents to stay clear of the area as public safety officials remained on scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are leading the investigation into the crash. The cause remained unknown as of Tuesday night. An NTSB investigator was expected at the scene Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The identity of the third victim, who was on the ground at the time of the crash, had not been publicly released as of Wednesday.