Family wiped out in 'copter horror

AUTHORITIES were last night probing why a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair over the Hudson River, killing all six people on board.

- By Christopher Bucktin

Officials said the dead were the pilot and a Spanish family with three children aged four, 10 and eight.

The flight was to mark that child's nine birthday yesterday which they never lived to see.

The parents, from Barcelona, were Agustin Escobar and Merce Camprubi Montal, both executives at units of energy tech firm Siemens.

Merce was related to two former presidents of FC Barcelona.

Photos posted on the helicopter company’s website showed the tourists smiling before boarding.

Gunshots

The flight, operated by New York Helicopter, departed at around 3pm on Thursday and lasted fewer than 18 minutes.

It flew north along the Manhattan skyline and then back south toward the Statue of Liberty.

Video of the crash showed parts of the aircraft tumbling through the air into the water near the shoreline of Jersey City, New Jersey.