A family of five and a pilot died when a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River during a sightseeing flight in New York City on Thursday.
The family, from Spain, included three young children.
Videos of the helicopter falling from the sky, which have been posted online, appear to show the rotor blade had separated from the chopper before it plunged into the river, on Manhattan’s West Side, at 3.15 pm yesterday.
The scenic trip around the Statute of Liberty and up to George Washington Bridge had been arranged with New York Helicopters, according to local media. It said the pilot had radioed base to warn he was running out of fuel shortly before the crash.
Rescuers pulled the six victims from the water, four were pronounced dead at the scene and two others were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, officials said.
The victims, Agustin Escobar, President and CEO of Siemens in Spain, his wife and their three children, are believed to have just arrived in New York from Barcelona.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the investigation into the crash of the Bell 206, a two-bladed helicopter, will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
*The inset image taken of the family as they boarded the helicopter was released by New York Helicopter.
