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.
“Our hearts go out to the families,” Adams said.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the identities of the victims will not be released until the families are notified. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Video footage of the incident shows the helicopter falling out of the sky upside down and then 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 New York Helicopters and took off from the Downtown Skyport on the lower side of Manhattan at 14:59 local time (19:59 BST).
The first calls of the crash came around 15:17 EDT (20:17 GMT) 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 on scene, while two others were pronounced 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.
In a social media post, President Trump said the crash was terrible and more details would soon be released into what happened.
“God bless the families and friends of the victims,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The Bell 206 is commonly used by sightseeing companies, television new stations and police departments.
Michael Roth, the CEO 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 said, “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 Jersey City resident, 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 and all five passengers drowned. Only the pilot survived.
In 2009, a helicopter carrying Italian tourists collided with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine.
By BBC News
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