Vanessa Bryant has made her first statement since her husband Kobe and her daughter Gianna died in a tragic helicopter crash.
Nine people were killed on Sunday when the aircraft went down in California.
The wife of the NBA legend and former LA Lakers player wrote on Instagram: "My 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 definitely need them.
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"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.
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"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."
Vanessa accompanied the post on social media with a photo of the family before the tragedy struck.
This follows the 37-year-old mother of four changing her profile picture to one of Kobe and Gianna embracing and smiling at one another.
In the image, Kobe has a basketball tucked underneath his arm and his little girl is gazing up at him.
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The now-heartbreaking picture was taken at an NBA all-star game in Toronto back in 2016.
Kobe met Vanessa when she was just 17 back in 1999 - the pair got engaged six months later and married in 2001.
They shared four children together: Gianna who was tragically killed alongside her dad, Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and seven-month-old Capri.
Bryant and 'Gigi' were on their way to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, for basketball practice at the time of the incident.
Topics: News