Woman and baby die in boat near the Statue of Liberty

©Jenny Marvin via Unsplash

A woman and her five-month-old baby died after a boat capsized in New York Harbor, near the Statue of Liberty. The boat’s captain has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment.

The incident occurred Saturday evening around 10:25 p.m. local time, when an emergency call was received reporting a capsized boat near Liberty Island. A large-scale rescue operation was launched, involving two Coast Guard boats, four fire department boats, two police boats, and a police helicopter. Twelve people on board were pulled from the water and were in stable condition. New York Police Department divers later found a 27-year-old woman and a five-month-old girl in the water. They were taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where they later died. Although authorities did not initially release their names, colleagues and local media confirmed that the victims were Sara Sanchez and her young daughter, Antonella Garcia, from Queens.

Captain arrested

The boat, a speedboat just under 7 meters long, was carrying fourteen people when it capsized. The captain, Manuel Hernandez (46) of Manhattan, was arrested on Sunday morning and charged with thirty counts of reckless endangerment. According to federal prosecutors, he was operating the boat without the required permits and without sufficient safety equipment for the children on board. The Coast Guard is also investigating whether the boat was being operated illegally as a charter vessel, without the required certificates and safety inspections. An illegal charter is a passenger vessel that does not meet the legal requirements for safety and inspection.

The restaurant Il Punto Ristorante, where the victim’s father works, described the trip as “a joyful family outing that ended in unimaginable tragedy.” The exact cause of the capsizing is not yet known; the investigation is ongoing.

©Jenny Marvin via Unsplash