Six people, including three children, lost their lives after the tourist helicopter they were in plunged into New York City’s Hudson River on Thursday (10 April).
Footage of the crash circulating online shows the helicopter spinning in mid-air before crashing into the river, with a rotor blade following seconds later.
Source: @FearedBuck on X
The aircraft was then submerged, with only its landing gear jutting above the water’s surface.
@vani_mehrotra on X
Operated by New York Helicopters, the Bell 206 chopper had departed from Manhattan’s Lower East Side at about 3pm local time, reported the BBC.
It was carrying a family of five Spanish tourists and a pilot.
Source: BBC
The aircraft reportedly lost control after turning near the George Washington Bridge to follow the New Jersey shoreline, crashing into the river minutes later.
Emergency responders, including police and rescue boats, were dispatched to the scene, with divers pulling the victims from the water.
“Immediate life-saving measures” were also conducted on them, but four people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Two others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Source: Reuters
Two of the victims were identified as Mr Agustín Escobar and his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, both executives at tech giant Siemens.
Their three children were aged four, five and 11. They lived in Barcelona.
A Siemens spokesperson said the company was “deeply saddened” by the tragic crash that claimed the lives of the family.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the deaths were “devastating” and he shared the grief of their relatives.
Eyewitness Dani Horbiak, 29, saw the crash from her apartment window while working from home, she told Reuters.
Recounting the terrifying moment, she said:
I looked out my window right here, and I saw the helicopter falling to pieces, and I watched multiple pieces splashed down into the river below, and I was wondering what happened… But I’m putting the pieces together. It does sound like I was maybe hearing the propeller smacking into something.
Shaken, she called emergency responders, she added.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead the investigation into the crash.
Source: Reuters
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the cause of the crash remains under investigation and the victims’ identities will not be confirmed until their families are notified.
US President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to address the incident, calling it “terrible” and adding that more details would be released soon.
“God bless the families and friends of the victims,” he wrote.
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