Kim Kardashian posted her condolences for the Bryant family on Twitter after news of Kobe Bryant‘s passing spread. The NBA star was in a fatal helicopter crash on Sunday morning, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Kardashian was among those mourning on social media.
“My heart is so heavy. No one should ever experience what the families involved are going through,” Kardashian wrote. “This has affected us all so much but I cannot begin to imagine what Vanessa is feeling losing her husband and her baby girl. I cry just thinking about it.”
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Kardashian included a black and white photo of Bryant and his daughter in her post. It showed them sitting side-by-side at a basketball game both smiling. Gianna leaned her head on her dad’s shoulders while he leaned over to plant a kiss on the top of her head. The sweet photo had fans teary-eyed all over again.
My heart is so heavy. No one should ever experience what the families involved are going through. This has affected us all so much but I cannot begin to imagine what Vanessa is feeling losing her husband and her baby girl. I cry just thinking about it. pic.twitter.com/U3osyw6Pzu
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 27, 2020
Kardashian followed that post up with another, saying that she was “praying for the Bryant family, the Altobelli family and the families of all who perished in this unthinkable tragedy.”
“Rest in Peace Legend,” she added.
Bryant and his daughter were on a helicopter flying from John Wayne airport in Orange County to the L.A. area, where Gianna was to play in a basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Academy. Less than an hour after take-off, the aircraft crashed in Calabasas, California.
The crash did not impact any homes or roadways in the area, but it did ignite a brush fire. According to the local fire chief, the blaze covered about a quarter of an acre when first responders arrived. In a press conference broadcast by ABC News, he revealed that medics got straight to the copter from overhead, only to find all of the passengers dead.
In addition to Bryant and his daughter, there were six other passengers in the helicopter, plus the pilot. So far, three more have been publicly identified — Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri Altobelli and daughter Alyssa. John’s brother Tony confirmed the news to CNN.
As for the others, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that their names would not be revealed to the press until their next of kin had been notified and consented to the publicity. He added that it would be “extremely disrespectful” for those families to learn that their loved ones had passed “from TMZ.”
Bryant is survived by his wife, Vanessa Laine Bryant, and three more daughters. The youngest, Capri, was just born in June of 2019.
ABC is airing a special tribute to Bryant at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, immediately after the 2020 Grammys.
