All five passengers of a helicopter that crashed into a New York City river are confirmed dead on Monday morning.

  • Passengers were taking a tour when copter went down
  • The pilot was able to escape crash

After 7 p.m. on Sunday, several people watched as the chopper went down in the East River. There was not much anyone could do, but watch as the tour helicopter slowly went down into the East River as its blades slammed into the water as it capsized.

According to New York Police Department, the pilot was able to escape.

The New York Fire Department said firefighters and divers had to remove the five passengers from the helicopter.

While two passengers were found dead on arrival, the other three were taken to the hospital in critical condition. They were later pronounced dead.

Witnesses watched as it all unfolded.

"It sort of landed on its side and then flipped over, and then for about a minute and a half no one came out of the water, so all of us immediately called 911," said Brianna. "We saw one guy climb onto the raft and he was yelling for help, and we were on the phone with 911, and he floated from the middle of the river all the way down on the raft but we only saw one person on the raft."

One of those witnesses later tweeted how shocked she was.

The National Transportation Safety Board says it is investigating the crash.