A tourist helicopter carrying family members from Spain plunged into the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday, killing six, including three children.
The New York Helicopters chartered chopper, which was carrying a pilot, two adults and three children, fell into the Hudson River by Lower Manhattan in New York City on Thursday afternoon, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop confirmed to ABC News.
The family members were tourists from Spain, officials said.
The crash occurred at 3:17 p.m. off the coast of River Drive in Hoboken, New Jersey, just over 15 minutes after it departed from the Wall St. Heliport. The helicopter reached the George Washington Bridge before turning south and crashing, according to authorities.
“Our hearts go out to the family and those on board,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during the briefing.
Video from the crash showed the chopper plunging into the water without a tail rotor or a main rotor blade. Officials said it hit the water inverted.
Jersey City Medical Center, where the passengers were transported after the crash, tried as hard as they could, Mayor Fulop told ABC News.
The Spanish Consulate of New York City is in touch with authorities to gather and confirm information and identification of the people involved in the helicopter crash, according to the communications team at the Spanish Foreign Ministry. Authorities in Spain are aware of the crash as well, according to the department.
Dani Horbiak told ABC News she watched the helicopter “fall out of the sky” from her apartment window.
“I heard five or six loud noises that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky and saw pieces fall off, then watched it fall into the river,” she said.
“I was walking by and the helicopter went down at 45-degree angle,” Eric Campoverde told ABC News. “Big splash — it was very scary.”
“It sounded like a sonic boom,” a witness told New York ABC station WABC. He said he saw the “helicopter splitting in two with the rotor flying off.”
Another witness told WABC, “One propeller broke into pieces.”
The chopper — identified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Bell 206 helicopter — was on its sixth flight of the day. It was found upside-down in the 50-degree water when rescuers arrived at the scene, which was closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, according to sources.
The Jersey City Police Department is taking the lead on the investigation since the helicopter crashed on the Jersey City side of the river, Fulop told WABC on Thursday.
Fulop said the city has had concerns about the air traffic over the Hudson before and is hoping this brings more attention to their safety concerns.
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff and Erin Murtha contributed to this report.
The post Tourist helicopter crashes in Hudson River in New York City, all 6 on board killed appeared first on ABC News.
