New York ( CNN ) -- A 60-year-old woman on Sunday became the third person to die as a result of a helicopter crash last month in New York 's East River , said a spokeswoman for the city 's medical examiner 's office . Harriet Nicholson was pronounced dead at approximately 3:22 a.m. Sunday at Bellevue Hospital , said Ellen Borakove from the office of the chief medical examiner . After an autopsy , officials determined that she died due to `` respiratory complications of near-drowning , '' according to Borakove . Nicholson was among those on board a Bell 206 Jet Ranger that plunged into the water on October 4 , moments after pilot Paul Dudley had radioed that his aircraft was experiencing problems , National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said last month . Authorities initially said that one woman -- Sonia Marra of Sydney , Australia , who died on her 40th birthday -- was the only fatality , with four others reported injured . Marra was trapped in the craft 's back seat as it sank , New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said . Helen Tamaki , 43 , died the following week . A source close to the investigation identified Harriet and Paul Nicholson , one of now two survivors , as Marra 's mother and stepfather . Tamaki was a family friend , according to the source . The pilot , Dudley , is the other survivor . A 15-member team from the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash , which happened shortly after takeoff from a riverside helipad . U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney , who represents Manhattan 's East Side in Congress , said in a previous statement that she was `` saddened and deeply concerned '' about the crash . `` There have been at least 28 helicopter crashes in our city over the last three decades , '' she said . `` Federal transportation officials should investigate not only the causes of this crash , but also whether it is safe to have such a high volume of helicopter traffic over our densely populated city . ''
Harriet Nicholson , 60 , dies at a New York hospital , a city spokeswoman says . One woman died instantly and another died a week later , officials have said . The helicopter crashed into the East River shortly after takeoff October 4 .