Authorities reported that Six people, including three children, were killed after a helicopter carrying a family of tourists crashed into the Hudson River in New York.

According to the Mayor Eric Adams, the family of five was from Spain and the sixth person was the pilot, All were onboard the helicopter at the time of the crash.

“Our hearts go out to the families,” Adams said.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the identities of the victims will not be released until the families are notified. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Video footage of the incident shows the helicopter falling out of the sky upside down and then splashing into the Hudson River.

Officials said the helicopter lost control soon after turning at the George Washington Bridge to move along the New Jersey shoreline.

Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, while two others were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the investigation into the crash of the Bell 206, a two-bladed helicopter, will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“God bless the families and friends of the victims,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

The Bell 206 is commonly used by sightseeing companies, television new stations and police departments.

Michael Roth, the CEO of New York Helicopter Charter Inc, told CNN he was “devastated”.

“I’m a father, a grandfather and my wife hasn’t stopped crying since this afternoon,” he said. When asked about the maintenance of the helicopter, Mr Roth said, “It’s my director of maintenance who deals with that.”

Eyewitnesses who saw the crash told CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner, that they saw parts of the helicopter fall from the sky.

“I looked outside my window. I saw a few people running towards the water, and some people were acting pretty normal. So I was like oh, it might not be anything. Then I started to hear all the sirens come outside,” Jersey City resident Jenn Lynk said.

Another Jersey City resident, Ipsitaa Banigrhi, told CBS the crash sounded like thunder.

“I saw, like, black particles flying,” she said. “Again, I thought maybe it’s just like, dust, or birds, and then we heard all the emergency vehicles and sirens go by, and I think that’s when it was like, OK, what’s happening.”