AceShowbiz - Girls basketball coach Christina Mauser was among those killed alongside Kobe Bryant and his daughter in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26.

Mauser worked as a coach at Harbor Day School in Orange County - the school Kobe's eldest daughter attends - with her husband Matt Mauser, a singer in rock and roll band Tijuana Dogs, announcing that she was among the nine victims of the crash in a heartbreaking post on Facebook.

"My kids and I are devastated," he wrote. "We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much."

Meanwhile, Katrina Foley, the mayor of Costa Mesa in Orange County, added in a post on Twitter, "This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted."

Christina had joined Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna en route to the Mamba Sports Academy, the basketball centre co-founded by the sportsman, where the teenager was set to play in a tournament this weekend.

Also on board the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was John Altobelli, the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa - who played on the same team as Gianna at the academy.

All nine people on board the aircraft were killed when it crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California. It's since been reported that the heavy fog in the area is likely to have been a factor in the crash.

The pilot of the helicopter has been identified in multiple reports as Ara Zobayan.