Victims Identified in N.Y.C. Helicopter Crash as Spanish Siemens Executive and His Family #8

The victims of the helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River off New York City have been identified. The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation.

Agustín Escobar, the president of the Spanish branch of the technology company Siemens, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children were killed in the crash, a city official told PEOPLE. The pilot, who was also killed, has not been identified yet.

The Thursday, April 10, crash happened around 3:15 p.m. local time, according to the New York City Police Department. The Hoboken Fire Department confirmed the crash took place in Jersey City.

All six people on board the craft, including the pilot, died — though authorities have not yet shared key details such as what caused the crash or who the victims were.

A law enforcement source previously told PEOPLE that the family of five from Spain was on the helicopter at the time of the crash.

A witness told the Associated Press that he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in the air and saw the tail and propeller come off, while another said the helicopter was “spinning pretty fast” as it fell and hit the water “really hard.”

Based on flight tracking software, officials said the helicopter, which was flying for tour company New York Helicopters, took off at 2:59 p.m. from the downtown Manhattan heliport.

The aircraft flew south before turning to fly north up the Manhattan shoreline, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. At 3:08 p.m., the helicopter reached the George Washington Bridge, then turned and continued south along the New Jersey shoreline. The aircraft took off from the Wall Street heliport.

“Shortly thereafter the aircraft lost control and hit the water just a few feet off the coast of Pier A Park in Hoboken,” Tisch explained.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, said the aircraft was a Bell 206 helicopter.