Acerbic comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers was rushed to a New York hospital on Thursday after she stopped breathing during surgery on her vocal chords, a television station has reported.

New York City Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said a patient reported to be in cardiac arrest had been taken from Yorkville Endoscopy to Mount Sinai Hospital by emergency workers responding to the 9:40 a.m. call.

Long declined to name the patient due to privacy concerns, but the NBC television affiliate in New York identified the patient as Rivers, saying she stopped breathing during a procedure on her vocal chords.

Representatives for Rivers, 81, did not immediately return calls or emails and a representative for her daughter, Melissa Rivers, declined to comment. A Mount Sinai official also declined comment.