(NEW YORK CITY) — All six people on board were killed when a helicopter plunged into the Hudson River by Lower Manhattan in New York City on Thursday afternoon, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The helicopter was carrying a pilot, two adults and three children, according to law enforcement sources. The family members were tourists from Spain, sources said.
The helicopter was in the air around Manhattan for about 15 minutes before the crash. Video showed the chopper plunging into the water without a tail rotor or a main rotor blade.
Dani Horbiak told ABC News she watched the helicopter “fall out of the sky” from her apartment window.
“I heard five or six loud noises that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky and saw pieces fall off, then watched it fall into the river,” she said.
“I was walking by and the helicopter went down at 45-degree angle,” Eric Campoverde told ABC News. “Big splash — it was very scary.”
“It sounded like a sonic boom,” a witness told New York ABC station WABC. He said he saw the “helicopter splitting in two with the rotor flying off.”
Another witness told WABC “one propeller broke into pieces.”
The chopper — identified by Federal Aviation Administration as a Bell 206 helicopter — was on its sixth flight of the day. It was found upside-down in the 50-degree water when rescuers arrived to the scene, which was closer to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, according to sources.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff and Erin Murtha contributed to this report.
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