INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The wife of Kobe Bryant says she has been left "completely devastated" by the death of the NBA legend and their teenage daughter in a
helicopter crash.LA Lakers hero Bryant and 13-year-old Gianna were among nine people who died when the aircraft they were travelling in came
down amid thick cloud over the city of Calabasas in California on Sunday.Tributes have poured in for the basketball icon in the days since
the tragedy and his wife Vanessa has broken her silence with a moving tribute posted alongside a family photo on Instagram
View this post on InstagramMy girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time
Thank you for all the prayers
We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet
Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri
We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately
There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now
I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved
We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives
I wish they were here with us forever
They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon
I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them
But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way
Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable
I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them
Have them here with us, forever
Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us
We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality
To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by
this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org
To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org
Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me
#Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family ❤️A post shared by Vanessa Bryant ? (@vanessabryant) on Jan 29, 2020 at 4:59pm
PSTImage:Vanessa Bryant changed her profile picture to a shot of Kobe and Gianna
Pic: Instagram/@vanessabryantMrs Bryant said she and the couple's other daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and Capri, seven months, were
thankful for the "millions of people who've shown support and love during this horrific time".She continued: "Thank you for all the prayers
We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe - the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet
Gianna - a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri."Mrs Bryant has also changed her
profile picture to a photo of her husband, 41, and Gianna sharing a moment during the 2016 NBA All-Star Game at the Air Canada Centre in
Toronto.Mrs Bryant added: "We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief
There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now."Others killed included Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his
wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, who played on the same basketball team as Gianna, and the girls' coach Christina Mauser.ABC News has
suspended their chief national correspondent Matt Gutman after he wrongly reported live on-air that Bryant's other daughters had also died
in the crash.Image:Kobe Bryant in action for the Los Angeles LakersMrs Bryant said: "I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew
that they were so deeply loved
We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives
I wish they were here with us forever
They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon."I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life
But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way."Our love for them
is endless - and that's to say, immeasurable
I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them, have them here with us, forever."Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your
We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality."Image:Fans have flocked to the Staples Center in
Los Angeles to pay their respectsImage:People gather in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Staples CenterMrs Bryant also announced
the MambaOnThree Fund to help support other families affected by the crash.Her husband went by the nickname of Black Mamba throughout his
trophy-laden career, all with the Lakers, and also since his retirement in 2016.Bryant was a five-time NBA championship winner with 18 NBA
All-Star selections and two Olympic gold medals.When he retired, the Lakers retired the shirt numbers he had worn during his career - eight
and 24.Image:All nine bodies have been recovered from the crash siteImage:The helicopter went down on a hillsideFollowing the crash, People
magazine reported that Bryant and his wife had a pact that they would never ride in a helicopter together and that the sports star would
only fly choppers piloted by Ara Zobayan.Mr Zobayan was the pilot on Sunday and had more than 8,000 flight hours.The investigation into why
the helicopter crashed is still ongoing, but officials have said the pilot was trying to clear a layer of cloud moments before the aircraft
came down.All nine bodies have been recovered and Bryant's is among those who have been identified.
