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Horror footage reveals desperate last words of NBC news anchor before helicopter crash
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An NBC News helicopter crash was caught on camera, with the aircraft seen plunging from the sky and killing both people on board.
A terrifying video of the incident shows the helicopter shaking violently shortly before the tragedy.
Following a deadly bus collision in Los Angeles, NewsChopper4 could be seen hovering over the scene before something went wrong.
Footage from the aircraft shows the bus crash scene before a sudden descent causes the camera to shake violently and the helicopter to plummet back to Earth.
The video also manages to catch the last words of NBC News Anchor Eliana Moreno, who, just seconds before the disaster, asked: “Pull. You can’t pull up?”
As the helicopter rapidly loses altitude, it can be seen dropping as low as surrounding buildings before crashing in Chatsworth shortly before 7PM on Tuesday (September 15).
Aftermath of the helicopter crash
Three people lost their lives in the helicopter tragedy, with authorities believing that one person was on the ground at the time of the crash.
Another was taken to hospital in critical condition.
NBC Los Angeles reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw have been named as the two victims in the chopper.
Officials said that one of those killed was outside the helicopter when it crashed, stating: “We do have one confirmed patient that seemed to be outside of the helicopter when it crashed.
“That person was declared deceased on scene.”
Over 50 firefighters responded to the scene and battled the blaze.
Following the crash, the official cause has not yet been decided, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launching an investigation into the matter.
Numerous news helicopters were in the air after an SUV collided with a city bus, killing two people and leaving six injured.
Angel City Air was operating NBC4's Eurocopter AS350 during the tragedy, with the craft also providing aerial coverage of a different tragedy in Chatsworth.
The coverage of NBC4's crash became the focus of other news teams after the station had lost contact with the crew.
NBC colleague reacts to tragedy
Experienced NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams had tears in her eyes when she confirmed that the downed chopper belonged to her news station.
“We knew it was a news chopper. We knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received confirmation,” she said emotionally.
Williams went on, explaining: “We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it.”
NBC4's coverage was suddenly cut off shortly after the broadcast.
Videos from the ground revealed the extent of the helicopter's wreckage, with flames engulfing nearby cargo containers and vehicles scattered near Lurline Avenue and Nordhoff Street.