Man arrested after boat capsizes near Statue of Liberty killing woman and infant
Police in New York have arrested and charged the operator of a boat that capsized near the Statue of Liberty on Saturday night, after the accident killed a woman and a baby. A large search and rescue operation was launched following the incident, which occurred in New York Harbour close to Liberty Island, home to the famous statue.
A Good Samaritan vessel rescued 12 people from the water before emergency services arrived, and police divers subsequently recovered a 27-year-old woman and a five-month-old girl, both of whom later died in hospital. The 46-year-old Manhattan man who operated the boat faces 13 counts of reckless endangerment, and investigators are examining whether the vessel was being illegally chartered. The identities of those aboard and the cause of the capsizing have not yet been disclosed, and the investigation remains ongoing.
- Boat operator arrested after fatal capsizing near Statue of Liberty
- Woman, 27, and five-month-old baby died in hospital
- Operator charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment; probe continues
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The boat capsized in New York Harbour on Saturday evening, in waters near Liberty Island, the small island in New York Bay that is home to the Statue of Liberty and is a major tourist draw. Passenger vessels, both scheduled ferries and smaller charter or tour boats, regularly operate in this stretch of water, and it is not yet clear what kind of trip the boat was making when it went down.
The accident killed two people, a young woman and a baby, after they were pulled from the water and taken to hospital. Twelve other people on board were rescued by a passing vessel before police and emergency crews arrived, and a search and rescue effort followed to account for everyone involved.
New York police have arrested and charged the man who was operating the boat, a 46-year-old from Manhattan, with reckless endangerment. Authorities are also looking into whether the boat was being used as an illegal, unlicensed charter, a question that matters because commercial passenger boats are normally subject to safety rules and inspections that unlicensed operations may bypass.