A Spanish family of five who died Thursday when a helicopter plunged into the Hudson River was in New York City to celebrate a birthday, a local official said.
The victims included Agustín Escobar, president of the Spanish division of tech giant Siemens, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children—ages 4, 5, and 11. The family were on a sightseeing flight over Manhattan when the helicopter crashed approximately 16 minutes after takeoff. The 36-year-old pilot, who has not been identified, also died in the crash.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said the family had traveled from Barcelona to mark the mother’s 40th birthday.
“The Husband was here for a business trip + the family flew out to extend the trip a couple days in NYC. They were celebrating the mom’s 40th bday with the tourist helicopter flight yesterday,” Fulop wrote on X.
He added: “The brother in law is flying in this AM + we are working with ME to expedite release of the family to fly back to Spain. Take a moment today + think about this family + your family. These situations are always very difficult + sad.”
The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter, operated by tour company New York Helicopters, took off from a Manhattan heliport and circled the Statue of Liberty before moving north along the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge and turning south.
The pilot is reported to have contacted the base to say the aircraft was running out of fuel. The cause of the crash remains unclear.
Chilling footage shows the helicopter spinning out of control before plunging into the river. The rotor blades appear to have detached from the aircraft’s body midair.
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others were taken to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead shortly afterward, officials said.
New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth told the New York Post the incident is a “devastation.”
“I’m a father and a grandfather and to have children on there, I’m devastated. I’m absolutely devastated,” he said. “The only thing I know by watching a video of the helicopter falling down, that the main rotor blades weren’t on the helicopter.”
“And I haven’t seen anything like that in my 30 years being in business, in the helicopter business. The only thing I could guess—I got no clue—is that it either had a bird strike or the main rotor blades failed. I have no clue. I don’t know,” Roth continued.
He added: “This is horrific. But you gotta remember something, these are machines and they break.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the news as “devastating.”
“Five Spaniards from the same family, three of them children, and the pilot have lost their lives. An unimaginable tragedy. I share in the grief of the victims’ loved ones at this heartbreaking time,” he said on X.
President Donald Trump also mourned the “terrible” crash in a Truth Social post.
“The footage of the accident is horrendous,” he wrote. “God bless the families and friends of the victims.”
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