The office of the mayor of Jersey City – across the Hudson River from New York City – says in a statement that the city’s Office of Emergency Management is securing the submerged helicopter and will eventually remove it from the river.

It has also begun to investigate the crash in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the statement says.

There were no victims or property damage in Jersey City, which is across the river from Lower Manhattan.

We have been looking at the helicopter’s other flights earlier today before it crashed into the Hudson River, using the FlightAware tracking website.

The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter, registered with the Federal Aviation Administration as N216MH, is shown to have made nine other short journeys from Lower Manhattan on Thursday, with most originating and terminating at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, according to FlightAware.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference that the aircraft belongs to a tour company called New York Helicopters.

Most of the flights it was shown to have taken today were only minutes long, circling the island of Manhattan, heading towards the Statue of Liberty and then up to northern Manhattan near the George Washington Bridge before heading back to land at its take-off point.

The longest flight registered today lasted 25 minutes.

Today’s incident isn’t the first time an aircrafts have gone down in the Hudson River.

The most famous incident, known as the “Miracle on the Hudson”, happened in 2009 when a US Airways plane was struck by a flock of birds and forced to make an emergency landing on the river.

Captain Chelsea “Sully” Sullenberg became a household name after landing the plane successfully, with all of 155 passengers surviving.

More recently, in 2019, a another helicopter crashed into the Hudson after refuelling. The pilot was the only person on board and only had minor injuries.

In 2016, a vintage plane flying over for an air show also went down in the river. The pilot was killed.

Leaders in New Jersey – the state just across the HudsonRiver from New York City – have been posting their condolences online.

US Senator Cory Booker wrote: “Heartbroken for the victimsof the helicopter crash in the Hudson River… I’m grateful for the swiftaction by emergency responders.”

And similar thoughts were posted by recently elected US Senator Andy Kim: “Such awful news of a helicopter crash in theHudson… We are holding their loved ones close in our hearts today.”

Here is the location of the helicopter crash on the Hudson River, which has left six people dead, in New York.

During the news conference a few minutes ago, Jessica Tisch, the New York Police Commissioner, says that no names of the victims will be released until their families of the victims arenotified, Tisch says.

Tisch also outlines the path of the fatal flight. Thehelicopter was operated by the tour company New York Helicopters and took offat 14:59 local time (19:59 GMT). It flew up the Hudson River, then turned southbefore crashing near a pier in Hoboken, New Jersey – just across the Hudsonfrom New York City.

The helicopter was upside-down when it hit the water, Tisch says.

Mayor Eric Adams expressed his condolences for the six people who died in the crash, including the family of tourists from Spain and the pilot.

“Our hearts go out to the family,” he said.

He also made a reference to the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson”, when a US Airways passenger plane landed on the same river and all 155 passengers survived.

“It’s almost reminiscent of the plane going down here on the Hudson river,” he said. “Thank god we didn’t lose any lives back then.”

He concluded by saying the investigation is ongoing.

“We’re praying for the families and our gratitude to the rescuers,” he said.

New York’s Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker says that rescue boats were launched immediately after an emergency call was received.

“Swimmers were in the water shortly after the call,” he says.

Tucker praised the efforts of fire and police responders working together, but notes it is a “tragic day”.

The investigation is ongoing, officials say, noting that 911 calls began coming in at approximatively 15:17 EDT (20:17 BST).

Once on the scene, officials started searching the water for victims or survivors.

Immediate life-saving measures were attempted, they say, but were unsuccessful.

Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, the other two victims were pronounced dead at an area hospital, officials say.

Three adults and three children were on board, according to rescue authorities in New York.

The victims are a pilot and a family visiting from Spain.

All six were confirmed deceased.

We’re hearing from officials now, Mayor Eric Adams confirms six people were on board the helicopter.

All six are confirmed dead, authorities say.

Stick with us and we’ll bring you the latest.

We’re now hearing from authorities at a news conference about the helicopter crash. We’ll bring you all the updates, stick with us.

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from New York

It’s still appears to be very much an active scene here atthe site of the incident. We are told law enforcement will hold a pressconference soon with the latest.

We just saw a team of New York Fire Department rescue workers dock here at thispier in their wet suits.

It’s still raining, so that could potentially havehampered the operation, though the authorities wouldn’t comment.

We have heard from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy now. The Hudson River separates New York and New Jersey.

“I have been briefed by law enforcement on the tragic helicopter crash in the Hudson River close to New Jersey,” he says on X.

He added that the state is supporting emergency response through the state police, the Port Authority of New York, and New Jersey and other local first responders.

The bodies of six people have been recovered from the crash site, our US partner CBS News reports.

The body of a pilot was recovered from inside the aircraft, CBS adds. Earlier, we reported that six people are reportedly dead following the crash.

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from Pier 40, New York

I am near the scene of the New York helicopter crash, where rescue teams are gathered along Pier 40.

A helicopter is hovering above us as it begins to rain. Scores of lightsare flashing from fire and police vehicles as some onlookers gather.

The NYPDsays they are still in the very preliminary stages of its response and willprovide more details a bit later on.

The BBC’s US news partner CBS is now reporting that least six people are dead after a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River.

There were at least three children and three adults on board, CBS says, clarifying its earlier reporting that there were five people on board.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has tweeted about the crash, calling it “heartbreaking and tragic”.

He goes on to say the fire and police departments in New York are assisting first responders in New Jersey who are also responding. He advised local residents to avoid the area.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says in a statement that the crashed helicopter is a Bell 206 – a type of two-bladed helicopter. The agency says it cannot confirm how many people were on board the flight, though as we’ve reported, our US partner CBS News says there were at least five people were on board.

The FAA says it will conduct an investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board, which will also provide further updates.

A live feed we are watching from Reuters news agency appears to show a helicopter floating in the Hudson River.

A small boat with a diver on it is approaching the upside down wreckage.