A tragic helicopter crash has killed six people, including three children, in the Hudson River near Manhattan, New York, BBC reports.
According to reports, the Spanish family was taking a helicopter ride for sightseeing in New York.
Authorities have yet to release the identities, but they have been widely named as Agustín Escobar and his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, both executives at Siemens, their children, aged four, five, and 11, and a pilot.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing parts of the helicopter fall mid-air before it plunged into the water. Video footage of the incident shows the helicopter falling out of the sky upside down before splashing into the Hudson River.
This happened soon after turning at the George Washington Bridge to move along the New Jersey shoreline. Rescue efforts were launched immediately, but all six victims were pronounced dead, with four dying at the scene and two at a nearby hospital.
Authorities say the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
According to reports from FlightRadar24, the aircraft was a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, based on ADS-B tracking data. The Bell 206 is commonly used by sightseeing companies, television news stations and police departments.
It was built in 2004 and had an airworthiness certificate issued in 2016 that was good until 2029, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records.
The helicopter took off from the downtown Manhattan heliport at 2:59 p.m. and flew south before turning north along the Manhattan shoreline, up the Hudson River, and then to the George Washington Bridge.
It then turned south along the New Jersey shoreline, where it lost control and crashed into the water. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The flight path reflects the aircraft’s initial flight, which took off from lower Manhattan, circled near the Statue of Liberty, and then flew up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge.
The path up the Hudson is a popular sightseeing route. The FAA is temporarily prohibiting drone pilots from flying near the crash unless they have specific authorization.
This incident adds to a history of fatal tourist helicopter crashes in New York, including one in 2018 and another in 2009.
President Donald Trump also sent his condolences via a Truth Social post, saying “God bless the families and friends of the victims,” and that Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy was looking into the incident. The Spanish Prime Minister and New York City officials have also expressed their condolences to the victims’ families.
