A Siemens executive, his wife and three young children have been confirmed among the six people who died when a tourist helicopter crashed into New York City’s Hudson River on Thursday afternoon.

Agustín Escobar, who led Siemens’ operations across Spain and Southwest Europe, was aboard the ill-fated flight along with his wife, Merce Camprubí Montal, and their children, aged 4, 5, and 11. The family, visiting New York from Barcelona, Spain, perished alongside the helicopter’s 36-year-old pilot, whose name has not yet been made public.

Law enforcement officials confirmed the family’s identities to ABC News following the tragic incident.

The helicopter, operated by New York Helicopters, departed from the Wall Street Heliport at 2:59pm local time and crashed into the Hudson at approximately 3:17pm, off the coast of River Drive in Hoboken, New Jersey. According to officials, it was the aircraft’s sixth flight of the day.

Rescue divers discovered the Bell 206 aircraft upside-down in the icy, 50-degree water. Despite rapid emergency response, all six occupants were declared dead — four at the scene and two later in hospital.

The crash has prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into the cause of the incident. Video footage showed the helicopter flipping in the air before descending rapidly into the river shortly after reaching the George Washington Bridge and attempting to turn south.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences on social media, calling the incident “devastating.”

“Five Spaniards from the same family, three of them children, and the pilot have lost their lives. An unimaginable tragedy. I sympathise with the victims’ loved ones at this heartbreaking time,” Sánchez wrote on X.

Escobar, a key figure in Siemens’ mobility and transport division, was praised in earlier company statements for his leadership. Miguel Ángel López, former head of Siemens Spain, once described Escobar as “the best possible successor” whose contributions were “key to Siemens’ success.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, speaking during a press briefing, said: “Our hearts go out to the family and those on board.”

The tragedy echoes the recent loss of Nigerian banking executive Herbert Wigwe, who died in February 2024 in a helicopter crash in California alongside his wife, son and former Nigerian Exchange Group chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo.

Like the Escobar family, Wigwe and his family were also aboard a private flight that ended in disaster, stirring public grief and raising fresh concerns over aviation safety in the private charter sector.

Follow us on: