A woman and a five-month-old baby girl died after a small boat capsized in New York Harbour near Liberty Island on Saturday night, prompting a major rescue operation. The boat's operator, identified as Manuel Hernandez, 46, a Manhattan resident, was arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. Authorities are also investigating whether the vessel was operating as an illegal charter.
Police received a 911 call at around 22:25 local time reporting an overturned boat in the waters near Liberty Island, the uninhabited islet in Upper New York Bay that is home to the iconic Statue of Liberty. The vessel involved was a Bayliner roughly seven metres in length. Twelve people were pulled from the water before police divers located the victims — Sara Sanchez, 27, a resident of the Queens borough, and her five-month-old daughter Antonella Garcia. Both were transported in critical condition to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, where they were later pronounced dead. The other passengers sustained minor injuries and remain in stable condition.
The rescue effort was substantial, involving two Coast Guard vessels, four fire department boats, two police boats, and a police helicopter. A nearby tour and water sports company, Sea the City, played a pivotal role: its founder Adam Schwartz said one of his boats was first on the scene and helped pull 11 people from the harbour. "We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and the Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors," said Captain Doreen McCarthy of the US Coast Guard's New York sector.
Investigators are now working to determine how the boat came to capsize. Weather data from the National Data Buoy Center showed a moderate breeze in the area at the time, with winds of around 26 kilometres per hour recorded at 22:24. Authorities said no other vessel was involved in the incident. The Coast Guard is additionally examining whether Hernandez was running an illegal charter operation — defined as carrying passengers for hire without the required credentials, safety equipment, or certificate of inspection. "We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to the fullest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways," Captain McCarthy said.
The tragedy echoes a 2022 incident in which a similarly sized boat overturned in the Hudson River near Lower Manhattan, killing two people including a seven-year-old boy. Saturday's capsizing has renewed scrutiny of small-vessel safety and the enforcement of charter regulations on one of the world's busiest urban waterways.