A 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old daughter died, and 12 people needed rescuing, including the woman’s partner and father of her baby, when their boat capsized in the waters off lower Manhattan near Liberty Island, and the captain has been arrested, police said Sunday.
The vessel, described by police sources as a 21-foot Yamaha boat, overturned just before 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday, officials said. It may have been operating as an illegal charter, Coast Guard officials said.
NYPD divers found the woman, Sara Sanchez of College Point, Queens, and infant, Antonella Garcia, in critical condition in the water, cops said.
They were rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn but could not be saved, FDNY officials said.
Sanchez’s partner, Antonella’s father, was also on the boat that night but survived, police sources said.
“He’s in shock,” said Andres Garcia’s boss, Antonio Russo, general manager of Il Punto Ristorante in Hell’s Kitchen, who started a GoFundMe on behalf of the family. “He was in love with her in a very crazy way,” Russo said.
The couple had been together for more than 10 years and also had a 6-year-old son, Salvador, who was not on the boat, Russo said.
Russo believes the couple was celebrating the birthday of a friend who had chartered the boat for the occasion. Sara brought Antonella along because the baby was still breastfeeding, Russo said.
“That’s why they brought the kid, the little baby, with them because being a five-month-old, you know, she needed breastfeeding and everything. So that’s why they didn’t leave her on land as the other son,” Russo said.
Now Garcia faces the daunting task of raising his son alone. Both his and Sanchez’s families are in Colombia, according to Russo.
The captain and 11 survivors, including Garcia, were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Police charged the boat’s captain, Manuel Hernandez, 46, with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. He lives in Midtown, according to police. His arraignment was pending in Brooklyn Criminal Court Sunday as he received treatment at Maimonides Medical Center.
The crew of a passing hot tub boat, Sea the City II, helped rescue people from the water before police arrived.
“We assisted. We helped get 11 people onto our boat,” said the boat company’s owner, Adam Schwartz. “We coordinated with authorities and brought them to a landing in Brooklyn.”
“The crew is just happy,” he said of his boat’s crew. “They were able to get people out.”
Two Coast Guard boats, four FDNY boats, two NYPD boats and an NYPD helicopter arrived to help with the rescue operations, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
“Coast Guard Investigators are also determining whether the operation constitutes an illegal charter operation and are coordinating efforts in conjunction with NYPD,” Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist 3rd Class Breanna Boardman said.
The Coast Guard has opened “an active marine casualty investigation” into what caused the boat to capsize, officials said.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life last night, and our thoughts are with the victims’ family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Captain Doreen McCarthy, the Coast Guard Sector New York Commander, said Sunday. “We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors from the water.”
“We are working closely with CGIS (Coast Guard Investigative Service) and the NYPD to investigate this incident,” she added. “We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to highest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways.”
The Coast Guard describes an illegal charter as any passenger-for-hire vessel operation that lacks required U.S. Coast Guard credentials, safety equipment, and certificate of inspection.