WATCH: Disturbing moment helicopter ‘falls into Hudson river’ as Spanish family – including three children – die in latest New York aviation tragedy

THIS is the horrifying moment a tourist helicopter carrying a Spanish family of five plunged into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon.

Everyone on board was tragically killed in a horrific mid-air disintegration captured on video.

The Bell 206 aircraft crashed near Pier 40 in Manhattan at around 3.15pm local time, just minutes after taking off from a Lower Manhattan helipad.

READ MORE: WATCH: Fancy a free fridge? Bizarre rescue operation continues after dozens of units fall into the sea off the coast of Spain

The six victims include prominent Spanish executive Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, their three young children, and the pilot, whose identity has not been disclosed.

Disturbing footage shows the helicopter spiralling uncontrollably before smashing into the river waters. 

Witnesses described the aircraft ‘splitting apart’ mid-air, with its rotor blades and tail visibly detaching before the main fuselage hit the water.

According to flight data, the helicopter had been airborne for roughly 15 minutes. 

It travelled north along the Hudson River towards Fort Lee, New Jersey, before turning back and crashing just south of the George Washington Bridge, close to the Hoboken border.

Rescue boats and divers from the NYPD and Fire Department rushed to the scene. 

Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the site, while two others died later in hospital. 

The aircraft was briefly visible on the surface before it sank near the Holland Tunnel vents on the New Jersey side.

The Escobar family had arrived in New York from Barcelona earlier that same day. 

Escobar, 55, was Siemens Mobility’s Global CEO for Rail Infrastructure and had previously served as CEO of Siemens Spain. 

The Spanish Embassy in New York confirmed the deaths, but withheld further details pending notification of relatives.

The helicopter was operated by New York Helicopter Tours, a company offering sightseeing flights over Manhattan for as much as €2,550 for a 30-minute ride. 

CEO Michael Roth told reporters he was ‘devastated,’ admitting he had never seen a mechanical failure like this in over three decades in the industry. 

“The main rotor blades weren’t even attached to the helicopter,” he said to the New York Post after reviewing footage.

Tour helicopters are a common sight above Manhattan, but Thursday’s crash has reignited long-standing concerns about safety and noise. 

State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal called the incident ‘a foreseeable tragedy’ and renewed calls to ban non-essential helicopter flights over New York City. 

“Today’s accident is a grim reminder of our worst fears about the dangers of sightseeing helicopter flights. These helicopters operate without adequate regulation to protect passengers and New Yorkers on the ground,” he said in a statement.

Authorities are now investigating what caused the helicopter to break apart in mid-air. 

The skies were overcast but offered sufficient visibility at the time of the crash, and there was no indication of bad weather.

Eyewitness Dani Horbiak, watching from a nearby apartment, said: “I saw it fall from the sky. I heard five or six loud bangs that sounded almost like gunshots in the sky, and then I saw parts coming off, then the helicopter falling into the river.”

As emergency crews continue to recover debris from the Hudson, attention now turns to preventing another tragedy – and questioning whether such flights should ever have been allowed over one of the world’s most densely populated cities.