A Spanish family was preparing to celebrate one of their children's ninth birthdays when their sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed into the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, killing all six people on board, officials said.
Authorities, including the National Transportation Safety Board, are investigating the incident, which happened Thursday afternoon.
There was no new information available on Friday morning about a possible cause.
The victims included Siemens CEO Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, the company's global energy technology manager, and three children, as well as a pilot, a source familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.
The pilot also became a victim.
New York Helicopter, the company that owns the helicopter, expressed deep sorrow over the crash in a statement Friday and referred all media inquiries to investigators.
“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew has always been fundamental to our operations,” the statement said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted that the children were aged 4, 8 and 10, with the 8-year-old's birthday being Friday.
“It's probably part of the standard tourist experience to see the city from above,” Adams told Fox 5 New York.
“But this is certainly a very sad situation. Our deepest sympathies go out to all members of the family.”
Escobar was in the New York area on business and his family had flown in to spend extra days on the trip, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
