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A sightseeing helicopter ride turned tragic Thursday when a chopper crashed into the Hudson River off Manhattan, killing all six people on board — including a senior Siemens executive and his family from Spain.
Authorities said the aircraft, a Bell 206 operated by New York Helicopters, went down near a pier in Hoboken, New Jersey, around 3:15 p.m. local time. The crash happened just minutes after takeoff from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died later in the hospital, according to New York police. Dive teams recovered all six bodies from the river.
BREAKING: 6 people killed in Hudson River helicopter crash - APpic.twitter.com/G5NbjZVzV0
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Among the dead was Agustin Escobar, a top Siemens executive, along with his wife and their three children, aged 4, 5 and 11. The family was visiting from Spain and had booked the helicopter for a sightseeing tour of the city. The sixth victim was the American pilot.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft appear to break apart mid-air before spiraling into the water. “It started falling apart in mid-air... the tail came off and then it just flipped,” one man told local media.
Emergency responders, including the New York Fire Department and NYPD Harbor Unit, quickly rushed to the scene. Videos shared on social media showed the helicopter partially submerged, with debris floating nearby.
The helicopter’s flight path took it south toward the Statue of Liberty before circling back north along the Hudson River. It had been in the air for approximately 15 minutes.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the helicopter lost control just feet from the shoreline before slamming into the river upside down.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are now probing the cause of the crash. So far, no mechanical failure has been confirmed, but early reports suggest the aircraft suffered a catastrophic malfunction in mid-flight.
The deadly incident is the worst helicopter crash in New York City in several years. In 2018, five passengers were killed in the East River after a sightseeing chopper crashed and flipped — only the pilot survived.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the crash a "devastating tragedy" and extended condolences to the victims' families.
"This is a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile life can be," he said during a brief press conference Thursday evening.
The investigation remains ongoing.
*With information from BBC
