A television station helicopter covering a road accident crashed yesterday, Tuesday (in the early hours of today, Greece time), in a suburb of Los Angeles in the western United States, killing three people, the fire department said.

The helicopter was flying over the Chatsworth neighbourhood, north-west of downtown, broadcasting footage from the scene where an SUV had collided with a bus – three people were killed and several others injured in that crash.

Reporters at the scene said they saw the helicopter crash to the ground and catch fire about one block from where the road accident had taken place. Aerial footage filmed by other helicopters in the area showed the wreckage, with the tail and rotor mangled and engulfed in flames.

The fire department said three people were killed, one of whom appears to have been on the ground, while another person was taken to hospital with injuries – their condition is not yet clear.

As a rule, helicopters used by US television stations carry two people: the pilot and a journalist-camera operator.

It was not immediately known which television network the helicopter belonged to. Local station NBC4, which is owned by the national NBC News network, said, however, that it had lost contact with a crew.

Media outlets in Los Angeles, the second-largest metropolitan area in the US, engage in fierce competition. Many use helicopters, while the skies over the sprawling metropolis are already crowded with aircraft covering fires, vehicle pursuits and various other news events.

The fire department said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the cause of the helicopter crash.

Two killed shortly earlier in bus-SUV collision

The crash occurred while emergency services were already in the area responding to a separate fatal road accident.

Shortly after 17:00 local time (03:00 Greece time), an SUV collided with a Metro bus at the intersection of Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth. Two people were killed and at least six injured in the violent collision, while a rescue operation was required to free passengers from the vehicles.

Images from the scene showed the SUV wedged into the left-hand side of the bus, while one of the victims was reportedly thrown from the vehicle. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the crash.