Siemens Executive and His Family Died in Hudson Helicopter Crash

The couple killed in a helicopter crash near New York City on Thursday were well-known executives from Spain who were on vacation with their three young children, who were also killed, along with the pilot.

Relatives said it was the day before the daughter’s ninth birthday.

Spanish officials identified the husband as Agustín Escobar, and family members named the wife as Mercè Camprubí Montal. Their children were Agustín, 10, Mercè, 8, and Víctor, 4, the Camprubí family said in a text message, adding that Mercè would have turned 9 on Friday.

Their deaths were mourned in Barcelona, where the family had a home, according to officials. Their families declined to comment to reporters on Friday.

“They are a well-known family,” Salvador Illa, the governor of the Catalonia region, said in a telephone interview. “He was an executive at a large international company, and also she belonged to a well-known family. Two members of her family were presidents of the Barcelona Football Club.”

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter accident,” Mr. Illa said.

Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, N.J., said that Mr. Escobar arrived in the United States on Sunday to visit a Siemens plants in Pittsburgh, and that he had extended his trip so that his family could visit New York City and do some sightseeing while celebrating Ms. Camprubí’s birthday.

Mr. Escobar’s brother-in-law was flying to the United States on Friday morning to bring the bodies of the family to Spain, Mr. Fulop said.

The helicopter was operated by a tour company, New York Helicopter, and was flying along a popular route showcasing the city’s skyline. Video of the crash showed the helicopter breaking apart in midair, then tumbling through the sky and crashing into the Hudson River.

Shortly before the crash, the tour company posted pictures online that showed the Escobar family smiling on the helipad in front of the helicopter just before it took off.

In the pictures, Mr. Escobar and his wife can be seen grinning alongside their three children, who are wearing knitted winter hats and warm coats with small yellow flotation devices attached to them.

Other pictures show them strapped into their seats, with one of the children riding up front with the pilot.

Two of the passengers were alive when divers pulled them from the frigid water, but they later died, New York City’s police commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch, said at a news conference. The pilot, who has not been identified, was also killed.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, Commissioner Tisch said.

Mr. Escobar, 49, was born in Puertollano, a small city in central Spain, Emiliano García-Page, the region’s leader, said on social media. The region celebrated his achievements in 2023, naming him a “favorite son.”

On Friday morning, Mayor Miguel Ángel Ruiz of Puertollano said in a statement that the city “mourns the loss of one of its most brilliant sons.”

Mr. Escobar led Siemens’ rail infrastructure division from the company’s Berlin office, the company said. Before assuming his current role in October, Mr. Escobar was the chief executive of Siemens Spain. He previously worked for the technology giant in the United States and Colombia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Siemens said it in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths.

Mr. Escobar’s parents and sister still lived in Puertollano, and he visited them often, said Francisco Chicón, a retired banker who also hailed from the city.

Throughout Mr. Escobar’s business career, Mr. Chicón said, he continued to invest in his hometown. He helped the city develop a climate-friendly steel mill, which has been “the main investment and employment opportunity for the re-industrialization of Puertollano,” Mr. Chicón said.

In a 2023 interview with a local newspaper, Lanza, Mr. Escobar said he joined Siemens more than 25 years ago as an intern. Proud of his roots, Mr. Escobar compared the city’s residents to the character Don Quixote, who also hails from the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain.

“We’re entrepreneurs and travelers,” he said in the interview. “We have a vocation for knowledge and a restless, open mind that invites us to learn.”

Ms. Camprubí was an executive with Siemens Energy, a separate company, according to her LinkedIn profile. Siemens Energy has not commented publicly on her death.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain described the crash as “an unimaginable tragedy.”

“I share the grief of the victims’ loved ones at this heartbreaking time,” Mr. Sánchez said on social media in the early hours of Friday.

Carlos Prieto, a government official, told reporters in Spain that the family’s remains would be repatriated once a New York judge granted permission to Spanish officials.

John Yoon and Rachel Chaundler contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.