New York: Agustin Escobar, head of the Spanish division of the global technology giant Siemens, and his family were killed in a tragic helicopter crash near New York, USA, in the early hours of Friday (IST). Footage shows the Bell 206 helicopter crashing into the Hudson River.
Rescuers succeeded in recovering the bodies of all six occupants of the ill-fated flight. Apart from the pilot, the bodies were of his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children, aged 4, 5 and 11.
Escobar has been described as an accomplished executive with over 25 years of international leadership experience in the energy and transportation sectors. From December 2022, he served as President and CEO of Siemens Spain, as well as CEO of Siemens Mobility Southwest Europe.
Earlier in his career, he led Siemens’ Energy Management Division and the Infrastructure & Cities Sector in Latin America between 2014 and 2018, including a two-year tenure as CEO of the latter.
From 1998 to 2010, Escobar held several key roles in Siemens Spain, primarily focused on the energy sector, before moving on to become Corporate Director of Strategy and International Business Development for Siemens in North America.
He held a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain. Throughout his career, Escobar led cross-functional teams across the United States, Latin America, and Spain.
According to the footage of the crash that stunned millions of viewers across the world, the helicopter had lost its tail rotor and a blade of the main one on top, before overturning and crashing into the river.
The helicopter had departed from Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 2.59 pm on Thursday (29 minutes past midnight on Friday in India), heading north toward the George Washington Bridge before looping south along the Jersey shoreline. Radar contact was lost 26 minutes later, ABC 7 reported.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that the flight lasted under 18 minutes. Rescue teams later recovered all six bodies from the water, including those of the three young children, he said.
