Helicopter Crashes into Hudson River, Multiple Fatalities Reported

NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter crashed Thursday into the Hudson River just off Manhattan, killing six people, officials said.

The fire department said it received a report of a helicopter in the water at 3:17 p.m. A official told The Associated Press that six people were aboard, and all were dead.

Videos posted on social media showed the Bell 206 mostly submerged, upside-down in the water. Multiple rescue boats were seen circling the aircraft.

The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on streets near the scene with their lights flashing.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.