A helicopter has crashed on the North River this afternoon, with the aircraft falling into the water near the Jersey City shoreline by the Holland Tunnel vents. The Coast Guard confirmed that all occupants were killed, including one pilot and five passengers. The AP reports the FDNY said the call came in at 3:17 p.m. Witnesses told AP the helicopter appeared to come apart in the air.

The FDNY, USCG, NYPD all responded, along with boats from the North Jersey Fireboat Task Force, including Edgewater’s boat which had been on the water all day training. FDNY’s Marine 1 company responded quickly from their Chelsea base with their small “alpha” boat and was on the scene by 3:23 p.m., but the large Firefighter II boat later also came up from Staten Island along with Marine 6 boats from Brooklyn. Army Corps of Engineers and NYS DEC police were also on the scene, including the Corp’s Drfitmaster with its large crane.

The Janice Ann Reinauer ATB was passing by just around the time of the crash and held position mid-channel for about an hour before proceeding north.