Legendary comedian and red carpet presenter Joan Rivers has been declared dead following a week after she suffered cardiac arrest. Rivers had serious heart complications following a routine outpatient throat surgery, Buzzfeed said.
Her daughter Melissa released a statement shortly on Thursday to announce the news. Buzzfeed obtained the statement, which read, "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17PM surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother... My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon."
On August 28, Rivers had a throat surgery at Yorkville Endoscopy when a 911 call had said that the comedian had stopped breathing. Her family said she had been placed on life support in a medically-induced coma. A forewarning that Rivers might not recover was when on Wednesday, Melissa said that her mother has been moved into a private room to keep her comfortable.
On the other hand, Rivers' death had somewhat urged the New York state health department to launch a probe into the circumstances of her eventual death. The department spokesman, James O'Hare, said on Thursday that they are looking into "the whole matter," CBS News said. He refused to discuss specifics of the case or its plans to hold Yorkville Endoscopy responsible.
Fox 411 also confirmed that the NYC Medical Examiner's office are also investigating the cause and manner of the comedian's death.
When Fox 411 attempted to contact Yorkville, the calls have been repeatedly hung up. The clinic has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.
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