The fiance of an NBC reporter who died in a Los Angeles helicopter crash gave a heartbreaking tribute to his partner.

Robert Barrientos, 47, the fiance of Eliana Moreno, 38, who was killed after her news chopper crashed, made his first public statement since the tragic passing of the woman he intended to marry.

'I don't have the words to express the pain I feel in my heart from losing my love Eliana this way,' Barrientos said.

Barrientos began his tribute by expressing gratitude to everyone who showered him with 'love and prayers' since the incident, which also killed pilot George Marciniw, 70, and bystander Gutierrez Mejia, 29.

In his post, Barrientos remembered Eliana as someone who 'loved and was passionate about what she did.'

While they sometimes joked that work was her 'favorite place,' the two planned to retire one day and move to Tennessee, where they could 'have some land and care for some animals.'

Barrientos said that while those dreams are now gone, 'her memory will live in my heart and soul forever.'

'I know I've been truly blessed to have experienced the love I shared with her in this life,' he said. 'Eliana was simply amazing - loving, kind, compassionate, giving, intelligent and extremely silly. If you knew Eliana, she had the best sense of humor.' 

'She loved her 2 dogs Penrose and Fullerton more than anything in this world,' Barrientos continued. 'I miss Eliana with every part of my body and soul. My heart aches for her return and wish I could hold her in my arms and tell her I love her.'

Barrientos concluded by thanking his support system, including his two sons and Eliana's family, for 'showing me so much love during the hardest time of my life.'

Moreno died as a result of blunt force trauma, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion also played a role in her death, per the medical examiner.

She and Marciniw were on board an NBC helicopter when it crashed near the scene of a deadly bus collision in Los Angeles just before 7pm on September 15.

The NewsChopper4 was flying over the area between two warehouses at the intersection of Nordhoff Street and DeSoto Avenue, near where an SUV crashed into a bus earlier in the night, when it suddenly lost altitude and plunged to the ground.

Two people were killed in the bus crash, while six others were left injured, some of whom were left in critical condition.

The chopper appeared to have crashed next to two shipping containers and several vehicles that were parked in the area, causing a massive blaze that threatened four vehicles nearby.

Moreno was a veteran aerial reporter for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo, who had been flying in news choppers since 2010 – covering police pursuits, wildfires, traffic and major local events.

She began her career in the air after graduating from Chapman University in 2010, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science.

Moreno had worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 around 2018 or 2019. Marciniw was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 14,000 hours in the helicopter.

The beloved news reporter was passionate about her role and frequently posted pictures of herself out in the field on her Instagram account Eli in the Heli, including one captioned: 'After working 76 hours since Sunday, I’m almost done! I can't complain though because I have the best job in the world.'

She was due to soon marry Barrientos after the pair announced their engagement on Facebook last October.

Moreno and Barrientos had been together for at least three years, according to posts on her public Instagram account.

Although the reporter never publicly announced the start of their relationship, she did start subtly tagging father of two Barrientos in reels with her dogs in 2023.

She made a post in May praising him for running a half-marathon with her.