Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has provided his condolences to mates and relations of a Spanish household who died in New York on Thursday after their sightseeing helicopter crashed within the Hudson River, killing all aboard together with the pilot.
It emerged on Friday that the victims have been Agustín Escobar, his spouse, Mercè Camprubí, and their three youngsters, who have been 11, 5 and 4. The identification of the pilot has not but been made public.
The sightseeing helicopter broke aside in midair and crashed the other way up into the Hudson between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront shortly after 3pm ET, resulting in an enormous response from emergency crews.
Movies posted on social media confirmed the plane principally submerged, the other way up within the water, and rescue autos crowding on to the streets on shore as emergency staff raced to avoid wasting these onboard.
“Now we have had devastating information in regards to the helicopter accident within the River Hudson,” Sánchez posted in a message on X on Friday. “5 Spaniards from the identical household, three of them youngsters, misplaced their lives together with the pilot. It’s an unimaginable tragedy. I share the ache of the victims’ family members on this heartbreaking second.”
Spain’s transport minister, Oscar Puente, additionally paid tribute, saying: “Studying with horror that the victims of the terrible helicopter accident within the US have been Agustín Escobar and his household. I met him over the previous yr in his capability at Siemens Spain. He was a captivating, hard-working and gifted individual.”
The German industrial conglomerate Siemens later confirmed that Escobar labored for the corporate as head of rail infrastructure at its mobility division.
“We’re deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash wherein Agustín Escobar and his household misplaced their lives,” Siemens stated in an announcement.
An individual briefed on the investigation, talking on situation of anonymity, informed the Related Press (AP) that Camprubí was a world supervisor at an power know-how firm.
The New York mayor, Eric Adams, confirmed six folks had been pronounced lifeless, together with three youngsters and three adults.
Talking at a information convention on Thursday night, Adams stated his ideas have been with the crash victims and their households. An investigation into the reason for the accident was persevering with, he stated.
Jessica Tisch, the NYPD commissioner, stated a lot of the passengers have been already lifeless once they have been faraway from the water, however two passengers have been taken to a close-by hospital, the place they died quickly after.
Tisch stated the Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Excursions, took off from a downtown helicopter pad at about 3pm and flew north over the Hudson. It turned south when it reached the George Washington gridge and crashed minutes later, hitting the water the other way up and sinking close to Decrease Manhattan about 3.15pm, simply off Hoboken, New Jersey.
Witness Bruce Wall informed the AP he noticed the helicopter “falling aside” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was nonetheless spinning with out the plane because it fell, he stated.
Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant alongside the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, stated she had seen the helicopter spinning uncontrollably earlier than it slammed into the water.
Supply hyperlink
