TORONTO -- In her first statement since the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant and 13-year-old daughter Gianna, Bryant鈥檚 wife Vanessa said 鈥渢here aren鈥檛 enough words to describe鈥� the pain her family is going through.
late Wednesday evening along with a family portrait of the couple and their four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, Bianka and Capri.
In the caption, Vanessa asked for privacy, but thanked supporters for sending messages of love during a difficult time.
鈥淭hank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them,鈥� she wrote in the post. 鈥淲e are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe 鈥� the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna 鈥� a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter.鈥�
鈥淚 wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.
I鈥檓 not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it鈥檚 impossible to imagine life without them.鈥�
Kobe Bryant and Gianna were among nine people on board a helicopter that crashed in Calabasas, Calif. on Sunday. There were no survivors.
The Mamba Sports Foundation, a charity Bryant founded to benefit youth sports, has set up the MambaOnThree Fund, which is meant to help the other families affected by the crash.
