After a helicopter crashes into the Hudson River, a Spanish pilot and their family of five are killed.

New Jersey's Jersey City (WABC) -- On Thursday afternoon, a tourist helicopter carrying a Spanish family crashed into the Hudson River in New York City, killing six people.

On the Jersey City side of the Hudson, the collision was reported around 3:17 p.m.

According to law enforcement authorities who spoke to ABC News, the collision claimed the lives of Agustin Escobar, a Siemens executive from Barcelona, Spain, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their children, ages 4, 5, and 11.

Six individuals were murdered, including the 36-year-old pilot.

The helicopter was flown by New York Helicopters, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

The helicopter appears to have taken off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2:59 p.m., and the FAA thinks it to be a Bell 206. Before heading back south along the Jersey side of the river, it ascended to the George Washington Bridge.

It looked like parts of the aircraft broke off and crashed into the ocean in the video that was shared with Eyewitness News. According to officials, the helicopter struck the sea upside down, lacking both a main rotor blade and a tail rotor.

It proved to be a horrifying recollection for the witnesses.

"I saw it plummet from the sky! Dani Horbiak, who witnessed the accident from her apartment window, stated, "I heard five or six tremendous booms that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky and saw pieces come off, then watched it fall into the river."

According to witness Max, "I heard a sonic boom to my right, so I looked up and saw a helicopter split in two, the rotor flying off, and this man was going straight into the sea and nothing came up thereafter."

According to witnesses, the helicopter took an upside-down nosedive after a total of 15 minutes, according to officials.

Rajany remarked, "It was the most horrifying sight that we ever experienced, and it just kind of broke apart."

Bruce Wall, a witness, stated, "I heard some crackling, glanced up, and then just saw a jet falling apart." "The plane simply sort of plummeted into the sea with the propeller still in the air after the tail broke off, maybe 15 feet in the air."

Divers from the NYPD and FDNY were in the water nearly instantly and helped with the recovery.

Two people were taken to nearby hospitals and proclaimed dead there, while four victims were pronounced dead at the site.

Following the collision, the passengers were taken to Jersey City Medical Center, which made every effort, according to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

Mayor Eric Adams remarked, "Our hearts go out to the family and those on board."

The helicopter's crushed wreckage was lifted from the Hudson River onto a barge Thursday night by a crane vessel.

Major portions of the aircraft have still to be retrieved, according to Fulop, but the main body of the aircraft has been found and is currently at the Army Corps of Engineers location on Chapel Avenue. According to him, NYPD and NJSP dive operations will start up again on Friday morning.

Along with a life preserver, a seat, and the belongings of a family of five, police recovered pieces of jagged metal that had washed up on the Jersey City shore.

According to the media staff at the Spanish Foreign Ministry, the Spanish Consulate of New York City is currently in contact with authorities to obtain and verify information and identify the individuals involved in the helicopter crash.

Since the aircraft fell on the Jersey City side of the river, the investigation is being led by the Jersey City Police Department, according to Fulop.

According to Fulop, there are frequent trips in the region, which is a crowded and regularly traveled area. By doing this, he intends to increase conversation and reduce traffic.

Fulop expressed his hope that this will draw greater attention to the fact that there are genuine safety concerns in addition to loudness.

According to the FAA, all activities around the Hudson River crash scene are being temporarily suspended.

A go-team from the NTSB is scheduled to arrive on Thursday night to examine the crash.

They will have to figure out what went wrong and why the 21-year-old chopper and its six occupants were doomed when the rotors broke apart.

Since 1977, at least 32 individuals have lost their lives in helicopter disasters in New York City. The most recent one occurred in 2019, when an executive chopper crashed onto a Manhattan skyscraper's roof in restricted area, killing the pilot.