By 5 Towns Central Staff
NEW YORK, N.Y. (Aug. 9, 2026) — A late-night boating excursion near the Statue of Liberty turned catastrophic late Saturday evening when a vessel capsized in Upper New York Harbor, claiming the lives of an infant and an adult woman. First responders launched a swift search and rescue operation in the waters surrounding Liberty Island after emergency dispatches alerted marine units to the sinking craft.
According to police officials, the emergency response began shortly before 10:30 p.m. following reports that a vessel carrying 14 passengers had flipped over. Rescue crews arriving at the scene quickly began pulled individuals from the harbor, managing to bring 12 survivors safely out of the water.
Specialized NYPD dive teams deployed into the harbor to locate the remaining missing passengers. Divers ultimately recovered a five-month-old infant and an adult woman from the submerged vessel. Both individuals were in critical condition at the time of their rescue and were immediately airlifted to a nearby medical facility in Brooklyn for emergency treatment, where medical staff later pronounced them deceased.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims or those of the surviving passengers. Marine navigation units and local authorities remain on scene to assess environmental conditions and investigate the precise factors that led to the sudden capsizing of the vessel. Further details regarding the boat’s point of origin and navigation route remain under investigation.