6 dead as helicopter crashes into Hudson River in New York; search on for others

A helicopter crashed into New York's Hudson River on Thursday, April 10, killing at least six persons, news agency AP quoted sources as saying. At least four people were rescued from the Hudson River and taken to hospital in New Jersey.

The crash happened near New York's West Side Highway and Spring Street. The cause of the helicopter crash remains unknown. Emergency services such as marine and land emergency service units have been dispatched to the New York helicopter crash site.

Videos and photos from the helicopter crash site circulating online shows a helicopter partially submerged in the Hudson River with several police boats surrounding the wreckage. Officers are also seen watching the scene from a nearby bridge.

Another video showed the exact moment the helicopter crashed into the Hudson River. According to FlightRadar, the helicopter was reportedly in the air for only 15 minutes before crashing into Hudson River.

"Due to a helicopter crash in the Hudson River, in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and Spring Street, expect emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding areas," the New York Police Department said in a statement.

The incident in New York is one of the many aviation incidents that have been reported from the United States.

Earlier in the day, a passenger jet carrying at least six members of Congress was clipped by another commercial plane on the ground at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.