Tragic New York City helicopter crash hitting home in Barcelona where victims were well-known

BARCELONA, Spain — As they sat inside a helicopter shortly before a flight over the towering skyscrapers of New York City, Agustin Escobar flashed a thumbs up while his wife and children beamed big smiles.

What was intended to celebrate their middle child’s upcoming birthday ended up being the final moments for the family of five from Spain. Moments later, their sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, killing them and the pilot.

Condolences poured in Friday for the Barcelona family, including Spain’s prime minister, the company where the parents worked and the school where their children studied.

Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal were both executives at units of energy technology company Siemens. Camprubí Montal also had ties to the famous Barcelona FC soccer club. Her grandfather was a former president of the famous Barcelona soccer club.

The children were 4, 8 and 10 years old. The middle child’s 9th birthday would have been Friday.

“Unimaginable,” was how Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the tragedy.

“The news that has reached us about a helicopter accident in the Hudson River is devastating,” Sánchez said on X while on a state visit to China. “Five members of a Spanish family, including three children, have lost their lives. It is an unimaginable tragedy. I feel for the loss of their loved ones.”

Students at the Jesuits of Sant Ignasi school in Barcelona’s upscale Sarria neighborhood wept and embraced their parents Friday afternoon, after having learned of the deaths of their friends and classmates, as seen by an Associated Press reporter.

A father at the school’s entrance said his son had been friends with one of children who perished, and is completely devastated. The man declined to be named.

The school published a statement on Instagram saying it was “devastated by the death of a family of our community.” It declined to comment when contacted by the AP.

Escobar was originally from Puertollano, a small city in central Spain’s Castilla La Mancha region.

“I want to express my sorrow for the traffic helicopter accident in New York that claimed the lives of Agustín Escobar and his family,” regional president Emiliano García-Page wrote on X. “In 2023 we named him a Favorite Son of Castilla La Mancha.”

Escobar worked for the tech company Siemens for more than 27 years, most recently as global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, according to his LinkedIn account. In late 2022, he briefly became president and CEO of Siemens Spain.

He regularly posted about the importance of sustainability in the rail industry and often traveled internationally for work, including journeying to India and the United Kingdom in the past month. He also was vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain since 2023.

In a LinkedIn post in 2022, he thanked his family, “my endless source of energy and happiness, for their unconditional support, love … and patience.”

His wife, Camprubí Montal, hailed from northeast Catalonia, where Barcelona is located. She had worked for Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as its global commercialization manager and as a digitalization manager, according to her LinkedIn account.

She was also closely tied to the history of the famous Barcelona soccer club. Her grandfather, Agustí Montal i Costa, was president of the club from 1969 to 1977, and her great-grandfather Agustí Montal i Galobart, presided the club from 1946-1952.

The club has so far not commented on her death.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,” Siemens said in a statement Friday.

Escobar had traveled to the New York area on business and his family flew in to extend the trip a few days, said Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City. Photos posted by the tour company on its website show the family smiling in the helicopter before takeoff.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the children were 4, 8 and 10 years old, and that the middle child’s birthday was Friday.

Jersey City’s Mayor Fulop said a relative was expected to arrive Friday and officials were working with the medical examiner to release the bodies for transport back to Spain.

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