New York (AFP) - Six people including a senior Siemens executive and his family were killed when a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York.

The crash on Thursday killed all those onboard the aircraft: the pilot and the family of Agustin Escobar, the CEO of a unit under global tech firm Siemens.

Two of the victims were initially taken to a hospital but died later.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives,” Siemens told AFP on Friday.

US media reports, including from NBC News, identified one of the other victims as Escobar’s wife Merce Camprubi.

Siemens Energy, a former subsidiary of Siemens, confirmed to AFP that a “colleague” at the company was killed in the crash alongside Escobar and the pilot, without specifying that it was Escobar’s wife.

The bodies of all six victims – including three children – have been recovered from the water, Mayor Eric Adams told a briefing earlier after calling it a “heartbreaking and tragic crash.”

The helicopter’s landing skids were seen protruding from the river beside a tunnel vent as several boats clustered around the crash site.

Police from both New York and New Jersey, which is on the opposite side of the river from Manhattan, responded to the scene along with fire department vessels.

The NBC4 channel reported that its own helicopter was unable to take off because of weather conditions in New York on Thursday that were gusty with thick cloud cover.

A witness told AFP it appeared as if the helicopter’s rotor blade “shattered in the sky.”

“And after it shattered, then we saw the helicopter just spiral… And then it just crashed into the water just like that,” said fashion designer Belle Angel.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement the aircraft was a Bell 206 helicopter.

“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” it said.

President Donald Trump described the crash as “terrible.”

“The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

- ‘Heartbreaking’ -

The river is a busy shipping channel and was the scene of a dramatic 2009 incident when a US Airways jet landed safely in the water. All 155 people on board escaped alive in an event dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

The river is as deep as 200 feet (60 meters) at points and an AFP correspondent saw what appeared to be floatation devices deployed on the helicopter’s skids.

The average temperature of the river is 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) at this time of year, according to the US Geological Survey.

“Three adults and three children were on board a Bell 206 helicopter that had left from the downtown Skyport at just about 3 pm,” Adams said, adding that the tourists were a family from Spain.

Police and fire service (FDNY) divers raced to pull survivors from the wreckage, he said.

“NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site, and FDNY Divers recovered an additional two. Immediate lifesaving measures were undertaken on the vessels at the scene, as well as the adjoining pier,” police commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

“Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, and two more were removed to local area hospitals, where, sadly, both succumbed to their injuries.”

The helicopter flew south after taking off before heading up the Manhattan shoreline to the George Washington Bridge, turning back towards the downtown Manhattan heliport, losing control and hitting the water near a Hoboken pier, Tisch said.

The police commissioner said the aircraft was operated by New York Helicopter, which did not respond to a request for comment but lists the Bell 206 among its fleet.

There have been around 30 helicopter crashes in New York since 1980, Brooklyn Borough President Mark Levine told reporters, calling for tighter restrictions on helicopter traffic in the city.