A family of five Spanish tourists and a pilot have all been killed in a horrific helicopter crash into New York City‘s Hudson river.
The terrifying crash took place at around 3:15pm on Thursday, closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River just off the tip of Lower Manhattan.
Witnesses said they saw the chopper ‘split in half’ before it went down near Pier 40, with one man reporting the stricken aircraft making what sounded like a ‘sonic boom.’
It remains unclear if the chopper was a tourist aircraft or privately-owned helicopter. It is also too early to say what may have caused the crash.
Dramatic video showed the helicopter sinking into the water as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Rescue and recovery operations continue.
The chopper appeared to be a N216MH – a Bell 206L-4, according to Flight Radar.
A helicopter with a Spanish family of two adults and three children is seen crashing into New York City’s Hudson river Thursday afternoon. The entire family as well as a pilot all died
A helicopter crashed into New York’s Hudson River with a child inside Thursday afternoon
The bottom of the helicopter is seen floating upside down in the frigid waters of the Hudson after Thursday’s crash
The helicopter is seen being pulled from the water after the crash
Other dripping footage showed the chopper ‘flying erratically’ just before it fell into the water.
One eye witness told ABC the crash ‘sounded like a sonic boom,’ and when he looked up he saw the chopper ‘splitting in two.’
‘It was going so fast and it just went straight into the water… I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,’ he added.
Another person told the outlet: ‘I heard a loud snap … I looked over … and I could see a helicopter falling on its side and splash into the water. I didn’t see anyone come out.’
At least 32 have been killed in helicopter crashes in New York City since 1977.
The skies are often filled with both planes and helicopters that both fly private recreational, commercial and tourists flights.
A young boy was pulled from the water and was taken to the hospital, an NYPD source told DailyMail.com
Manhattan has multiple helipads that are used by people, including business executives, to get across the Metropolitan area.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
