A helicopter crash in New York City on Thursday afternoon resulted in the deaths of all six people on board, including a family of Spanish tourists. According to officials quoted by the Associated Press, the helicopter was being used for sightseeing when it broke apart in midair and crashed upside down into the Hudson River. The aircraft caught fire after hitting the water.
The crash took place between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City. After the helicopter went down, many emergency teams from both sides of the river quickly responded. Rescue workers and vehicles rushed to the spot to look for people in the water and manage the situation.
Spanish family among the victims
One of the people killed was Agustin Escobar, the head of the Spanish division of the global technology company Siemens. According to the New York Post, Escobar died along with his wife and their three children. They were on the helicopter for a sightseeing tour when the crash happened.
Escobar was the president and chief executive of Siemens Spain. His family had come to New York for a vacation. Sadly, their tour ended in disaster.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that the flight took off from a downtown heliport around 3 p.m. and lasted less than 18 minutes before the crash.
“Due to a helicopter crash in the Hudson River, in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and Spring Street, expect emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding areas,” the NYPD posted on X.
A video on social media showed a sightseeing helicopter crashing into the Hudson River in New York, killing all six on board, including three children.#HudsonRiver pic.twitter.com/oUagKICiI0
— The Tatva (@thetatvaindia) April 11, 2025
The helicopter went down near Pier 40
The helicopter crashed near Pier 40 on West Houston Street and West Street at about 3:15 p.m., according to the New York City Fire Department. The department got the first call at 3:17 p.m., and rescue boats and emergency teams quickly moved into action.
Videos on social media showed the helicopter, a Bell 206, almost completely underwater and upside down. Several rescue boats were seen around it. Fire trucks and emergency vehicles lined nearby streets with flashing lights as first responders worked to recover the victims.
This is not the first time such an accident has happened in New York. In 2009, a sightseeing helicopter collided with a small plane over the Hudson River, killing nine people. In 2018, an “open door” helicopter crashed into the East River, killing five passengers.
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