Tragedy struck as Siemens’s Senior Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Agustin Escobar, and his family members reportedly died when a sightseeing helicopter plunged into the Hudson River in New York.
It was gathered that the Siemens’ CEO died alongside six other people in the helicopter crash on Thursday, April 10.
It was also gathered that all occupants of the aircraft, including the pilot and the family of Agustin Escobar, CEO of a Siemens subsidiary, perished in the crash.
Two of the victims who were rushed to the hospital later succumbed to their injuries few hours later.
Siemens Energy, a former subsidiary of Siemens, confirmed to newsmen that a colleague at the company was killed in the crash alongside Escobar and the pilot, without specifying that it was Escobar’s wife.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives,” Siemens told AFP on Friday.
The bodies of all six victims, including three children, have been recovered from the water, Mayor Eric Adams said at a briefing earlier, after calling it a heartbreaking and tragic crash.
The helicopter’s landing skids were seen protruding from the river beside a tunnel vent as several boats clustered around the crash site.
Police from both New York and New Jersey, which is on the opposite side of the river from Manhattan, responded to the scene along with fire department vessels.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft was a Bell 206 helicopter.
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” it said.
