Vanessa Bryant has publicly thanked the world for the outpouring of support following the death of her husband Kobe Bryant, one of their daughters and seven others.

She also announced on Wednesday the formation of a fund to help support the other families who lost loved ones in the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, earlier this week.

"Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them," Vanessa Bryant wrote on Instagram.

"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."