NEW YORK CITY: A tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six people on board. The victims included three children.
The helicopter, operated by New York Helicopters, carried a pilot, two adults, and three children. It went down near Lower Manhattan around 3:17 pm., according to officials.
The victims were a family from Barcelona, Spain. Agustin Escobar, an executive with Siemens, died in the crash along with his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children, aged 4, 5, and 11. The 36-year-old pilot also died.
The helicopter took off from the Wall Street Heliport. It reached the George Washington Bridge, then turned south. It crashed off River Drive in Hoboken, New Jersey, just 15 minutes after takeoff.
Mayor Eric Adams expressed condolences. “Our hearts go out to the family and those on board,” he said.
Video of the crash showed the helicopter plunging into the river without a tail rotor or main blade. It hit the water upside-down.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Jersey City Medical Center tried to save the victims, Mayor Steven Fulop said. “They did all they could,” he told ABC News.
Witness Dani Horbiak saw the crash from her apartment. “I heard five or six loud noises like gunshots,” she said. “I saw pieces fall off, then watched it fall into the river.”
Another witness told WABC that a rotor broke apart in the air.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Bell 206. It was on its sixth flight of the day. Rescuers found it upside-down in 50-degree water, closer to the New Jersey side of the river.
Jersey City Police are leading the investigation. The crash occurred on their side of the river, Mayor Fulop confirmed.
Former President Donald Trump called the crash “terrible” and the footage “horrendous” in a social media post Thursday evening.
