April 10 (UPI) — A family of five from Spain and a pilot died when a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River near New York City Thursday afternoon.
The helicopter was carrying a pilot and five passengers, three of them children, when it crashed into the river at about 3:15 p.m. EDT, ABC News and the New York Post reported.
All six people were recovered from the river and died from their injuries, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a 10-minute news conference early Thursday evening.
“Our hearts go out to the family of those who were on board,” Adams said.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said four were pronounced dead at the scene and two others were taken to local hospitals where they also were pronounced dead.
The five passengers were a family of tourists visiting from Spain, and the helicopter was airborne for about 12 minutes before crashing into the river.
The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of their families.
Tisch said the flight was done by a tour company called “New York Helicopters” and took off from a location in Manhattan at 2:59 p.m.
Flight tracking software showed the helicopter flew south along the Manhattan shore of the Hudson River before turning and heading north along the same route, Tisch said.
The helicopter made another turn at the George Washington Bridge and flew south along the New Jersey shoreline, lost control and crashed in the water near Hoboken.
Adams and Tisch said emergency calls began coming in at 3:17 p.m. and first responders from New York and New Jersey were on the scene within minutes.
“A Bell 206 helicopter crashed and is submerged in the Hudson River in New York City,” Federal Aviation Administration officials said in a post on X.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
The Coast Guard stopped vessel traffic and established a safety zone around the crash site.
A witness told ABC News she heard “five or six loud noises” and saw pieces falling from the helicopter before it crashed into the river.
