Late on Sunday night, news emerged of basketball legend Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash. He was 41.

Nine people were killed in the helicopter crash that claimed the life of NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, Los Angeles officials confirmed on Sunday.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said eight passengers and the pilot of the aircraft died in the accident.

“There were no survivors... There were nine people on board the aircraft, the pilot plus eight individuals,” Villanueva said.

The helicopter crashed in foggy weather in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Authorities said firefighters received a call at 9:47 am about the crash, which caused a brush fire on a hillside. The accident was confirmed by police, with celebrity news outlet TMZ confirming first that one of the fatalities was the NBA superstar.

The helicopter was described as a Sikorsky S-76, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

Early reports of Bryant’s death sent shockwaves throughout the world, with fellow stars and celebrities expressing disbelief at the news.

“This can’t be true,” Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic wrote on Twitter. “No please.”

The crash came only hours after the 41-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers icon was passed by current Lakers star LeBron James for third on the all-time NBA scoring list in a Saturday game at Philadelphia.

Bryant’s final post on social media had been a tweet congratulating James on surpassing him.

“Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames,” Bryant wrote. “Much respect my brother #33644”.

Bryant was a five-time NBA champion in a career that began in 1996 straight out of a high school and lasted until his retirement in 2016.

He also was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, helping spark the US squad of NBA stars to titles in 2008 at Beijing and 2012 at London.

Players, present and former, as well as fans from around the world expressed their shock at the news: