Three children among six dead in Hudson River helicopter crash

A crashed helicopter is seen floating in front of an NYPD boat on the Hudson River on April 10, 2025 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Photo: AFP / Getty Images

Three adults and three children were killed when their helicopter crashed into New York’s Hudson River on Thursday, the city’s mayor said.

“At this time, all six victims have been removed from the water. And sadly, all six victims have been pronounced deceased,” Eric Adams told a briefing.

The victims, the pilot and five passengers, were believed to include a family from Spain, Adams told a press conference.

The New York Helicopters tour aircraft departed at 2:59 p.m. and later lost control, hitting the water upside down near Lower Manhattan at around 3:15pm and becoming submerged in the river, officials said.

The pilot, another two adults and three children were on board, an official told reporters.

New York City police divers and FDNY divers helped remove the victims from the water. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to area hospitals where they succumbed to their injuries.

The helicopter hit the water inverted, officials said.

Images showed the chopper’s landing skids protruding from the river beside Manhattan’s West Side Highway as several boats clustered around the impact site.

The chopper’s landing skids can be seen protruding from the river.
Photo: AFP / Getty Images

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

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

Witnesses told the outlet that the main rotor blade had come loose from the aircraft.

Aircraft tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that based on air traffic control data the helicopter was likely a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV.

Boats and rescue services at the scene a short time ago.
Photo: CNN / Luis Hernandez

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

The river is as deep as 60 metres at points, and the images of the helicopter appeared to show floatation devices deployed on the aircraft’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.

There is a heliport close to the Hudson Yards development but it was unclear if the aircraft was heading to or from the facility.

“Due to a helicopter crash in the Hudson River, in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and Spring Street, expect emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding areas,” the New York Police Department wrote in a statement.

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.

-AFP /Reuters