Six people were killed when a Bell 206 helicopter fell from the sky and crashed in the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
A Video posted on social media showed the chopper falling into the water after it appeared to lose its propellers mid-air. Emergency crews responded to the crash after the fire department said it received a call at 3:17 p.m. ET.
Witnesses told the New York Post that the helicopter “split in half” in the air before crashing into the water near Pier 40 on West Hudson Street. There was one pilot and five passengers on board. The passengers were three children, a man, and a woman, according to NBC 4 New York. Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the passengers were family members from Spain. The helicopter departed from downtown New York City and was in the air for around 15 minutes before it crashed into the Hudson.
One witness told ABC News that she “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.”
Another witness said he heard something that “sounded like a sonic boom” before seeing the “helicopter splitting in two with the rotor flying off.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Bell 206 was on its sixth flight of the day.
This article has been updated with additional information.
