Three dead after helicopter crashes near fatal Los Angeles bus collision

At least three people have died after a helicopter crashed into a suburban Los Angeles parking lot on Tuesday evening, coming down yards from the scene of an earlier fatal road accident.

The aircraft, which local media reports indicate was a television news helicopter covering the initial crash, went down just before 7:00 pm local time in the northern neighbourhood of Chatsworth. It struck a parking lot between two commercial buildings near the intersection of Lurline Avenue and Nordhoff Street, where several media crews had gathered.

The disaster turned an active rescue and recovery operation for the bus crash into a second, even more complex emergency scene. More than 50 firefighters rushed to the site to tackle a fast-spreading blaze that quickly engulfed four parked cars and two shipping containers. Though the flames were eventually extinguished, the impact left the helicopter completely shattered.

Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Branden Silverman described the aircraft as "pretty well destroyed." He told reporters that emergency crews would have to carefully sift through the charred wreckage to confirm exactly how many people were on board at the time of the flight.

As a result, officials have been unable to clarify how many of the three confirmed dead were passengers. Captain Silverman confirmed that at least one of those killed was a bystander who was outside in the parking lot when the aircraft fell. Another victim was rescued from the scene and rushed to a local hospital, but authorities have not yet released an update on their condition.

The crash happened as several news helicopters hovered over Chatsworth to report on a major road collision from earlier in the day. In that incident, an SUV had rammed into the side of a city transit bus. The impact was severe enough to lodge the front half of the SUV inside the bus, killing two people and injuring six others.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it has not yet verified the owner of the helicopter or the identity of those on board. Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have dispatched investigators to the scene to lead the inquiry into what caused the flight to end in disaster.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was "absolutely devastated" by the consecutive tragedies. "My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash," she said.