Bryant was travelling in his private helicopter when it crashed in the Los Angeles County suburb of Calabasas. Eight other people were killed, with no survivors. Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna ("Gigi") was among the deceased.

The helicopter was reportedly en route to Gigi's basketball game in Thousand Oaks.

Air crash investigators are expected to arrive in California to take the lead on the investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash that killed basketball star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.

At the same time, Lockheed Martin, the aerospace manufacturer that made the Sikorsky S-76 series helicopter that crashed, will reportedly launch a probe of its own.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fatal crash. There was extensive fog in the Los Angeles area on Sunday morning.

The crash was reported at 9:47 am, local time, said LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby. About 56 fire personnel were dispatched to the scene, near the intersection of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street. The crash sparked a brush fire before firefighters were able to put it out. The firefighters were able to determine that no one survived the crash.

Villanueva said that a flight manifest listed eight passengers and one pilot. Officials had said earlier that five people were killed.

News of Bryant's death sent shock waves throughout the world, as fellow athletes, celebrities and politicians paid their respects to "The Black Mamba."

"There's no words to express the pain I'm going through with this tragedy of losing my niece Gigi and my brother," Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant's former Lakers teammate wrote. "I'm sick right now."

Former President Barack Obama, who hosted Bryant and the Lakers at the White House following their 2010 championship, wrote: "Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day."

On Saturday night, LeBron James passed Bryant as the NBA's third-highest scorer of all-time. Bryant tweeted his congratulations to James following the game in Philadelphia, which also happens to be Bryant's hometown.

Michael Jordan, the NBA superstar Bryant was often compared with, was another to express his shock.

"I am in shock over the tragic news of Kobe's and Gianna's passing. Words can't describe the pain I'm feeling. I love Kobe - he was like a little brother to me. We used to talk often, and I will miss those conversations very much. He was a fierce competitor, one of the greats of the game and a creative force. Kobe was also an amazing dad who loved his family deeply - and took great price in his daughter's love for the game of basketball," he said in a statement.

Since retiring in 2016, Bryant has turned to the media - he won an Oscar for best animated short film in 2018 for Dear Basketball - and family life, and was a common site on the girls AAU circuit supporting Gianna.

Gianna's favourite player was Atlanta Hawk Trae Young, who switched to Bryant's number 8 in his memory for a game a short time later.

Bryant played in the jersey 8 and 24 over his career, and teams honoured him at the beginning of each game with players standing by and accepting either 24-second or 8-second violations. There were standing ovations in each arena, with fans chanting "Kobe, Kobe".

Within hours of the news of Kobe Bryant's death breaking, a fast-growing crowd of about two hundred people had gathered outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon to mourn the Lakers legend, who died earlier that day in a helicopter crash.

Chants of "Kobe! Kobe!" broke out spontaneously outside of the sports venue, home court to the Los Angeles Lakers. A black-and-white photo of Bryant populated screens featuring the message "In Loving Memory of Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020," which was displayed outside the Staples Center and Microsoft Theater, where the Grammys were under way Sunday night.

Drafted in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia - a rarity in the NBA at the time for a player to skip college - Bryant was traded to the Lakers where he became a fan favourite overnight. He wore both numbers 8 and 24 for the Lakers, the organisation where spent his entire 20-year career. His two jerseys were both retired, an NBA first, following his exit from the league in 2016.

Jerry West, the then LA Lakers executive who orchestrated the trade after identifying the then teenager as a future all time great, paid tribute to the man as well as the player.

"The news we've all received today is the most devastating news that anyone can imagine. ... The loss of Kobe, Gianna and everyone on board is beyond tragic and incomprehensible. I will love Kobe forever and always cherish the time that I spent with him. I watched him grow from an energetic kid into the man he became, making a difference in so many people's life. He has left the world a better place, Kobe's legacy will live forever."

Fellow Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has long spoken out on social justice issues, also wanted to point to work Bryant did off the court, too.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest scorers ever, Bryant was voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and was elected to the NBA's All-Star team eighteen times. He went on to win two gold medals with the USA Men's Basketball team - in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics and 2012 in London. Alongside O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson, Bryant helped revitalise Hollywood's favourite sports team in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the Lakers moved from the Inglewood Forum to the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles. He won five NBA titles, all with Jackson as coach.

Bryant's highest scoring game came in 2002 when he put up 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. Only Wilt Chamberlain, with 100 points in 1962, had a bigger single-game in NBA history.

Despite all of the "Ko-Be!" chants and on-court accolades, Bryant was not immune to controversy. In 2003, he was accused of sexually assaulting an employee at a Colorado hotel. The case was dropped the following year and Bryant issued a very public apology alongside his wife, Vanessa. "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognise now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did," he said.