BARCELONA, Spain — Agustin Escobar, along with his wife and children, were about to embark on a helicopter tour over the iconic skyscrapers of New York City. Their faces showed excitement and happiness as they prepared for the flight.
Tragically, what was meant to be a joyful celebration for their child’s birthday turned into a horrific tragedy. The helicopter they were in suddenly fell apart mid-flight, crashing into the Hudson River, resulting in the untimely death of the entire family and the pilot.
The Barcelona community, as well as many others, expressed their deepest sympathies for the family’s devastating loss. Messages of support came from Spain’s prime minister, the company that employed the parents, and the school attended by their children.
Escobar was global CEO of rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, while his wife, Mercè Camprubà Montal worked for Siemens Energy, a separate company. Camprubà Montal’s grandfather was a former president of the famous Barcelona FC soccer club.
The children were 4, 8 and 10 years old, and the middle child’s 9th birthday would have been Friday, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“Unimaginable,” was how Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the tragedy.
“The news that has reached us about a helicopter accident in the Hudson River is devastating,” Sánchez said on X during a state visit to China. “Five members of a Spanish family, including three children, have lost their lives. It is an unimaginable tragedy. I feel for the loss of their loved ones.”
Classmates shocked
Students at the Jesuits of Sant Ignasi school in Barcelona’s upscale Sarria neighborhood wept and embraced their parents Friday afternoon, after learning of the deaths of their friends and classmates, as seen by an Associated Press reporter.
The school held a minute of silence in the morning, Oleguer Bertran, an 18-year-old student, told the AP.
A father at the school’s entrance said his son had been friends with one of children who perished, and is completely devastated. The man declined to be named.
The school published a statement on Instagram saying it was “devastated by the death of a family of our community.” It declined to comment when contacted by the AP.
‘My endless source of energy and happiness’
Escobar was originally from Puertollano, a small city in central Spain’s Castilla La Mancha region.
“I want to express my sorrow for the traffic helicopter accident in New York that claimed the lives of AgustÃn Escobar and his family,” regional president Emiliano GarcÃa-Page wrote on X. “In 2023, we named him a Favorite Son of Castilla La Mancha.”
Escobar worked for the tech company Siemens for more than 27 years, most recently as global CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, according to his LinkedIn account. In late 2022, he briefly became president and CEO of Siemens Spain.
He regularly posted about the importance of sustainability in the rail industry and often traveled internationally for work, including to India and the United Kingdom in the past month. He also was vice president of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain since 2023.
In a LinkedIn post in 2022, he thanked his family, “my endless source of energy and happiness, for their unconditional support, love … and patience.”
Soccer club connection
Camprubà Montal hailed from northeast Catalonia, where Barcelona is located. She had worked for Siemens Energy for about seven years, including as its global commercialization manager and as a digitalization manager, according to her LinkedIn account.
She was also closely tied to the history of the famous Barcelona soccer club. Her grandfather, Agustà Montal i Costa, was president of the club from 1969 to 1977, and her great-grandfather Agustà Montal i Galobart, presided over the club from 1946-1952.
The club has not commented on her death.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter crash in which Agustin Escobar and his family lost their lives. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all their loved ones,” Siemens said in a statement Friday.
Doomed flight
Escobar had traveled to the New York area on business and his family flew in to extend the trip by a few days, said Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City. Photos the tour company posted on its website show the family smiling in the helicopter before takeoff.
Jersey City’s Mayor Fulop said a relative was expected to arrive Friday and officials were working with the medical examiner to release the bodies for transport back to Spain.
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