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

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — 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.

A trip that 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 was global CEO of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, while his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal worked for Siemens Energy, a separate company. Camprubí Montal’s grandfather was a former president of the famous Barcelona FC soccer club.

The children were 4, 8 and 10 years old, and the middle child's 9th birthday would have been Friday, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“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 during 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.”

Classmates shocked

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

The school held a minute of silence in the morning, Oleguer Bertran, an 18-year-old student, told the AP.

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.

'My endless source of energy and happiness’

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 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.”

Soccer club connection

Camprubí Montal hailed from northeast Catalonia, where Barcelona is. 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 over the club from 1946-1952.

The club has 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.

‘Smiles on their faces’

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

On Saturday, Adams and Joan Camprubí Montal, Mercè Camprubí Montal's brother, visited the crash site and laid flowers.

“It is our way of saying, as New Yorkers, we stand united with this family during this moment of grief, and their grief is ours,” Adams said.

Joan Camprubí Montal on Saturday expressed gratitude for the outpouring of condolences to his family

“They left together. They left without suffering. And they left with a smile on their faces. And that’s important for us as a family,” he said.

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Associated Press photojournalist Emilio Morenatti contributed. Associated Press writer Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed.

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This story has been corrected to show Camprubí Montal worked for Siemens Energy and her husband was employed by a separate company, Siemens Mobility. An earlier version said they both worked for Siemens.