Six people, including three children, were killed after a helicopter carrying a family of tourists crashed into the Hudson River in New York, authorities confirmed.
The victims included a family of five from Spain and the helicopter’s pilot. New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his condolences during a press briefing on Thursday.
“Our hearts go out to the families,” Mayor Adams stated.
While authorities have yet to formally release the identities, reports widely identified the victims as Agustín Escobar and his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, both executives at Siemens, along with their three children aged four, five, and eleven.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Agustin Escobar and his family. Our deepest condolences go out to all of his relatives,” a Siemens spokesperson said in a statement.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed devastation over the news and shared his condolences with the victims’ families. Similarly, Salvador Illa, regional leader in Barcelona where the family lived, extended his “affection” to their loved ones.
Video footage captured the harrowing moments as the helicopter spiraled upside down before crashing into the Hudson River.
According to officials, the helicopter lost control shortly after turning at the George Washington Bridge to proceed along the New Jersey shoreline. Operated by New York Helicopters, the Bell 206 two-bladed aircraft departed from the Downtown Skyport on Manhattan’s lower side at 14:59 local time (19:59 BST).
Emergency services received the first distress call around 15:17 EDT (20:17 BST), prompting an immediate response. Rescue boats were deployed, and swimmers entered the water shortly after, said New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker.
“Swimmers were in the water shortly after the call,” Tucker reported.
Rescuers worked tirelessly to search for victims and initiate life-saving measures, but the efforts proved unsuccessful. Four individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others succumbed to their injuries at a nearby hospital.
The crash site, located along Manhattan’s west side, is near a popular area known for shopping and dining, as well as the New York University campus.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that the investigation into the crash would be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Bell 206 helicopter model is widely used for sightseeing, news reporting, and law enforcement activities.
Reacting to the tragedy, US President Donald Trump described the crash as “terrible” and assured that more details regarding the incident would soon emerge.
“God bless the families and friends of the victims,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Michael Roth, CEO of New York Helicopter Charter Inc., told CNN that he was heartbroken by the news.
“I’m a father, a grandfather, and my wife hasn’t stopped crying since this afternoon,” Roth said. When questioned about the helicopter’s maintenance, Roth stated, “It’s my director of maintenance who deals with that.”
Eyewitness accounts shed further light on the incident.
“I looked outside my window. I saw a few people running towards the water, and some people were acting pretty normal. So I was like, oh, it might not be anything. Then I started to hear all the sirens come outside,” said Jersey City resident Jenn Lynk.
Another eyewitness, Ipsitaa Banigrhi, described the crash as sounding “like thunder.”
“I saw, like, black particles flying,” Banigrhi told CBS News. “Again, I thought maybe it’s just like dust, or birds, and then we heard all the emergency vehicles and sirens go by, and I think that’s when it was like, OK, what’s happening.”
This latest incident adds to a history of deadly helicopter crashes involving tourists in New York City.
In 2018, a tourist helicopter crashed into the East River, killing all five passengers while the pilot survived. Similarly, in 2009, a helicopter carrying Italian tourists collided with a private plane over the Hudson River, resulting in nine fatalities.
