Coast Guard probes fatal New York Bay capsize after mother, infant die

The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting an active investigation into a fatal capsize near Liberty Island after a mother and her 5-month-old daughter died and 12 other people were pulled from the water. The overturned boat went down in New York Harbor beside the Statue of Liberty, turning a routine outing into a deadly rescue operation.

The NYPD was called at 22:55 Saturday to an overturned vessel near Liberty Island, and harbor, scuba and aviation units were sent to the scene. By the time responders reached the area, 12 people had already been rescued from the water. The woman and infant were later found in the water and pronounced dead.

Investigators are now focusing on the tour operator and the captain as they reconstruct the final minutes before the vessel capsized. Authorities identified the operator as Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manhattan, and he was charged with multiple counts of reckless endangerment. The captain also faced a reckless endangerment charge.

The case has since moved onto a federal track, with federal prosecutors taking over and Hernandez in federal custody. Authorities are also investigating whether the vessel was operating as an illegal charter, a question that could determine whether the boat was carrying passengers outside the rules that govern commercial sightseeing traffic in one of the city’s busiest waterways.

The incident adds pressure on oversight of passenger boats that run close to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty, where commercial traffic, sightseeing tours and private charters share crowded water. The Coast Guard inquiry is expected to examine how the boat was operating, who was responsible for it, and whether the decisions made before the capsize left passengers exposed in the water near one of New York’s most heavily visited landmarks.