Six people, including senior Siemens executives and his family, were killed when a tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York.
A crash on Thursday killed all the people on the plane. It is the family of Agustin Escobar, CEO of the unit under Siemens, a pilot and global technology company.
Two of the victims were initially taken to hospital, but later died.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic crash of the helicopter that lost Agustin Escobar and his family,” Siemens told AFP Friday.
US media reports, including NBC News, have identified one of the other victims as Escobar's wife, Merce Camprubi.
Siemens Energy, a former Siemens subsidiary, confirmed with AFP that a “co-worker” from the company, along with Escobar and the pilot, had been murdered without specifying that he was Escobar's wife.
The bodies of all six victims, including three children, have been recovered from the water, Mayor Eric Adams previously briefed after calling it a “disastrous and tragic crash.”
The helicopter landing skid was seen protruding from the river next to the tunnel vent as several boats gathered around the crash site.
Police in both New York and New Jersey, on the other side of the Manhattan river, responded to the scene along with a fire station ship.
The NBC4 Channel reported that its own helicopter could not take off due to weather conditions in New York on Thursday.
Witnesses told AFP that the helicopter's rotor blades appear to be “smashed in the sky.”
“And after it shattered, I saw the helicopter spiral… and it just hit the water like that,” fashion designer Bell Angel said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the aircraft is a Bell 206 helicopter.
“The FAA and the National Traffic Safety Commission will investigate,” he said.
President Donald Trump described the crash as “bad.”
“The footage of the accident is horrifying. God blesses the family and friends of the victim,” he wrote on the Truth Social Platform.
– “Sadness” –
The river was a busy transport channel, a scene from a dramatic 2009 incident in which the US airways safely landed in the water. All 155 people on board escaped alive in an event called “The Miracle of Hudson.”
The river is 200 feet (60 meters) deep at the point, and AFP correspondents saw what looked like a floating device deployed on the skids of helicopters.
According to the US Geological Survey, the average river temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) during this time of year.
“Three adults and three children were on a Bell 206 helicopter that left Skyport in downtown around 3pm,” Adams said, adding that the tourists are Spanish families.
Police and Fire Forces (FDNY) divers competed to attract survivors from the wreckage, he said.
“The NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site and the FDNY divers recovered two more. Immediate lifesaving measures were implemented on the vessels on the scene and the adjacent pier,” said Police Commissioner Jessica Tish.
“Four victims were declared dead at the scene, and two more were taken to a local hospital.
The helicopter flew south after taking off along the Manhattan coastline before heading towards the George Washington Bridge.
The police chief said the aircraft is operated by a New York helicopter, which did not respond to a request for comment, but lists Bell 206 in the fleet.
Since 1980, there have been around 30 helicopter crashes in New York. Brooklyn Borough President Mark Levine has called on reporters for stricter restrictions on helicopter traffic in the city.
GW-TJX/PBT
