Hudson River helicopter crash kills family of five

Six people, including three children, were killed after a helicopter carrying a family of tourists crashed into the Hudson River in New York, authorities have said.

The family of five was from Spain and the sixth person was the pilot, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters on Thursday. All were onboard the helicopter at the time of the crash, which is under investigation.

"Our hearts go out to the families," Adams said.

Authorities have yet to release the identities, but they have been widely named as Agustín Escobar and his wife Mercè Camprubí Montal, who were both executives at Siemens, and their children, aged four, five and 11.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Siemens said: "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."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the news was devastating and that he shared the grief of the victims' families.

The Spanish family lived in Barcelona, and regional leader Salvador Illa sent "all my affection" to their family and friends.

A photograph of the family briefly published by the tour company shows them posing in front of the helicopter before the fatal incident.

Video footage shows the helicopter falling out of the sky upside down before splashing into the Hudson River.

Officials said the helicopter lost control soon after turning at the George Washington Bridge to move along the New Jersey shoreline.

The helicopter was operated by tour company New York Helicopters and took off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on the lower side of the island at 14:59 local time (19:59 BST).

• What we know about the Hudson helicopter crash

The first calls about the crash came around 15:17 EDT (20:17 BST) and rescue boats were launched immediately, New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said.

"Swimmers were in the water shortly after the call," he said.

Once on the scene, rescuers searched the water for victims or survivors and initiated "immediate life-saving measures", but the efforts were unsuccessful.

Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were declared dead at a nearby hospital, officials said.

The part of the river where the helicopter crashed is near Manhattan's west side, an area known for its trendy shops and dining. It's also near the main campus of New York University.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the investigation into the crash of the Bell 206 - a two-bladed helicopter - will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Bell 206 is commonly used by sightseeing companies, television news stations and police departments.

US President Donald Trump said the crash was terrible and more details would soon be released about what happened.

"God bless the families and friends of the victims," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Rescue boats were launched shortly after the first calls about the crash, which occurred roughly 18 minutes after the helicopter took off

Michael Roth, chief executive of New York Helicopter Charter Inc, told CNN he was "devastated".

"I'm a father, a grandfather, and my wife hasn't stopped crying since this afternoon," he said. When asked about the maintenance of the helicopter, Mr Roth replied: "It's my director of maintenance who deals with that."

Eyewitnesses who saw the crash told CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, that they saw parts of the helicopter fall from the sky.

"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," Jersey City resident Jenn Lynk said.

Another, Ipsitaa Banigrhi, told CBS the crash sounded like thunder.

"I saw, like, black particles flying," she said. "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 is not the first deadly tourist helicopter crash in New York City. In 2018, another tourist helicopter crashed into the East River. All five passengers drowned with only the pilot surviving.

In 2009, a helicopter carrying Italian tourists collided with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine.

Nearly 30,000 tourist trips take off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport every year, according to the New York Comptroller's Office.