Kobe Bryant’s sisters Sharia Washington and Shaya Tabb are opening up after the sudden and tragic loss of their brother and niece, Gianna, in Sunday’s (January 26) helicopter crash.

“On behalf of our family, we join Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri in grieving the loss of Kobe and Gianna in such a tragic accident,” the sisters told iOne Digital in an exclusive statement. “We are devastated by the loss of our brother, son, our niece and granddaughter, and our hearts go out to all the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday. Our lives are forever changed.”

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Tabb and Washington also thanked the public for their “prayers, the numerous calls, texts, emails, and cards” and encouraged people to support the other families impacted by the crash through MambaOnThree.org and honor Kobe and Gianna’s legacy at MambaSportsFoundation.org.

Kobe, Gianna, along with seven other people, were killed Sunday while taking a helicopter to the Mamba Academy for basketball practice in nearby Thousand Oaks. The aircraft crashed in Calabasas and killed everyone on board.