A British holidaymaker has been killed in New York following a helicopter crash on the East River.

The 40-year-old victim, her husband and daughter, all British citizens, and the daughter’s Australian friend had all been on board when the privately owned Bell 206 came down near 34th Street in midtown Manhattan.

The pilot - named in United States media as Paul Dudley - was able to make his own way to the river bank.

At least seven boats joined the rescue efforts, with two female survivors pulled from the water.

The two women - one of whom suffered cardiac arrest – and Dudley were then admitted to hospitals in New York.

The cause of the crash is still unknown, with the aircraft reportedly spinning out of control after take-off and falling into the East River.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters: “It is a sad day.”

The aircraft was lowered by crane on to a recovery boat and will be taken to the Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot was being interviewed as part of the investigation into the crash.

The US Coast Guard confirmed the East River had been closed to commercial traffic.