Dramatic new video captures desperate attempts to rescue victims of Hudson River helicopter crash

Dramatic new video captures rescuers’ desperate efforts at the scene of the deadly Hudson River helicopter crash that killed six, including three children. See the video.

Dramatic new video captures desperate efforts by NYPD first responders to revive victims of last week’s deadly Hudson River helicopter crash — as authorities continue to look into the cause of the crash that killed six, including three young children.

The chilling footage released by police Wednesday, shows at least a half-dozen NYPD boats and scuba teams rushing to the downed tourist chopper, which is seen floating upside down near the Holland Tunnel vent tower close to the New Jersey shore.

In one heartbreaking scene one responder appears to be performing CPR on a victim aboard one of the police boats — while a body shown on the nearby pier is blurred out of the video.

NTSB team evaluating the wreckage from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River. Picture: National Transportation Safety Board

The department’s diving unit was already in the river at the time of the crash, looking for a person reported missing from the South Street Seaport a day earlier.

“The day before there was another job, a missing person, and we were scanning to see if we could find that person,” NYPD scuba unit officer Joseph Frevola said.

“Then the call came over and we headed to the helicopter crash as quickly as possible. We were there in about 8 to 10 minutes.”

Frevola said divers had to contend with strong currents and winds fuelled by a full moon.

NYPD scuba divers collect floating debris near where the helicopter crashed. Picture: AFP

“It wasn’t too bad when we first got in the water, but we were there all day and we had to rig up the helicopter for the army corps to bring up,” he said.

“At that point, the current had flipped and it was pretty bad. We were horizontal, holding on to the helicopter, as we were rigging it up to hook up to the crane.

“We were really focused on the tail rotor and the main rotor of the helicopter itself,” Frevola added.

“The rotors the [investigators] wanted, we knew that, and then anything in the vicinity of the crash we deemed could possibly have been associated with this.”

The Bell 2026L-4 Long Ranger IV plunged into the water on April 10, killing pilot Seankese Johnson, a Navy veteran, and a family of five visiting from Spain – Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, 49, is wife, Merce Montal, 39, and their children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10.

Agustin Escobar and Mercè Camprubí Montal with their children Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Augustin, 10, in Times Square, New York. Picture: Joan Camprubí Montal.

In this photo taken from video, the helicopter can be seen falling from the sky into the Hudson River. Picture: AP

The Escobars had booked a chopper flight with New York Helicopter Tours to fly over the Big Apple when tragedy struck 18 minutes after takeoff, authorities said.

Officials said the chopper, which was on the eighth flight of the day, lacked a flight recorder. New York Helicopter Tours shut down three days after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration announced.

The NYPD scuba unit spent days scouring the murky river for anything that could help determine what caused the deadly wreck, and have recovered debris ranging from the fuselage to a cell phone.

“We were the first divers in the water,” NYPD diver Anthony Maledonis said of the rescue efforts.

“FD was on scene, but they weren’t in full scuba gear. When we got in, you can’t see anything. We were doing everything by feel.

“It’s zero visibility. You can’t see your hand in front of your face.”

NYPD scuba divers team as they searched next to the site of a crashed helicopter on the Hudson River. Picture: AFP

After 29 dives from Thursday to Monday, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are satisfied divers have recovered enough evidence to determine what brought the aircraft down, the divers said.

However, the NYPD team would not discuss their efforts to recover the bodies of the victims.

In the latest update on the investigation, the NTSB said Monday that it was still reviewing information and debris from the crash.

“Recovery efforts are now finished,” the agency said in a press release.

“The NTSB continues to ask witnesses to the crash who may have video or photos of any aspect of the accident sequence or have information that could be relevant to the investigation to email the NTSB at [e-mail].”

– This story originally appeared in The New York Post.