New York City: Five members of a family and a pilot were killed in a tourist helicopter crash into the Hudson River in New York on Thursday. Among the deceased were The head of the Spanish division of tech firm Siemens, Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children of four, five and 11 years. The identity of the pilot is not yet revealed.
Several videos of the moment when the helicopter, a Bell 206, crashed surfaced online. The incident took place near the shoreline of Jersey City. The flight departed a downtown heliport around 3 p.m. and lasted less than 18 minutes, reported The Associated Press.
The video of the crash showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air into the water. A witness, Bruce Wall, told the news agency that he saw the chopper "falling apart" in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. In the visuals, it could be seen that the propeller was still spinning without the helicopter as it fell.
Visuals Of The Incident
Authorities have recovered the bodies from the river.
Photos Of Spanish Family Moments Before Boarding The Family:
Who Was Agustin Escobar?
Escobar was the chief executive of the Spanish Division of Seimens. As per his LinkedIn account, Escobar studied Electrical Industrial Engineering at Universidad Pontificia Comillas. he pursued an MBA from Universidad de Alcala in 2002. Three years later, Escobar also completed an Executive MBA in Business Administration from IE Business School.
He had over 25 years of international experience in the energy, infrastructure and transportation sectors, leading businesses and teams in the United States, South America, Spain and Germany.
Escobar had worked in Seimens for over 27 years. He joined the tech company in 1998 as Head of Sales and Project Management for Power Automation Systems in Spain. In 2010, he moved to New York City and started handling international business development in North America.
He moved back to Spain in 2018 and became CEO of Siemens Rail Automation SAU and Siemens Mobility SLU.
