A helicopter crashes in the Hudson river in New York, several victims – Liberation

Several people died in the crash of a helicopter on Thursday in the Hudson river in New York, according to local media, an episode confirmed by the police and firefighters who gave no official assessment. “A Bell 206 helicopter crashed and is immersed in the Hudson river in New York. The number of people on board is not yet known ”, confirmed the Aviation Regulatory Authority (FAA).

According to the local channel NBC4, four people died in this spectacular crash whose images circulate on social networks and local televisions. According to ABC7, at least three people died. According to Reuters, it is a tourist flight. It was the third trip of the helicopter day this Thursday, April 10.

Images of local information channels have shown the sudden fall of the aircraft in the river that separates New York from the neighboring New Jersey, in Manhattan. According to a witness quoted by NBC4, the device lost its propeller before falling. The images show helicopter landing pads exceeding water next to the Manhattan West Side fast track, while several boats have gathered around the impact zone.

« We have received a call at 3:17 p.m. (8:17 p.m. in Paris) for a helicopter in the water »said a spokesperson for New York firefighters. The police, for his part, said that a « Helicopter has damaged in the Hudson river » and that traffic would be made difficult in the area with the arrival of emergency vehicles.

The Hudson river is a very busy channel in waters and in the air. In 2009, a plane from the US Airways company landed in the water without incumbent and the 155 people on board was saved, an episode nicknamed the « Miracle of the Hudson ». Over the years, many accidents have occurred, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter above the Hudson river in 2009, which killed nine people, and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering flights « Open doors » who crashed into the East River, killing five people.