A quiet Saturday night around New York Harbor turned into a desperate rescue operation when a small motorboat carrying 14 people overturned near Liberty Island, sending everyone aboard into the dark water.

The 22-foot bowrider capsized at around 10:25 p.m. Saturday, according to police sources. Emergency crews rushed to the scene as survivors were pulled from the water, with 12 people eventually rescued and taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.

But two passengers remained missing.

NYPD divers searched the harbor and eventually located a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter in the water. Both were transported to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn in critical condition, but tragically could not be saved. Their deaths turned what had initially been a frightening boating accident into a devastating family tragedy.

The scene at the hospital was described as heartbreaking, with relatives reportedly crying out in disbelief as survivors arrived for treatment. Meanwhile, emergency crews continued working through the night as police searched the waters around Liberty Island, the iconic New York landmark illuminated against the darkness.

Yet as the immediate rescue operation ended, investigators were left with a critical question: what caused the boat to flip?

Authorities have been examining the circumstances surrounding the overloaded vessel. The boat was reportedly carrying 14 people, and the U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the fatal incident. Officials are also looking into whether the vessel may have been operating as an illegal charter

The tragedy has now taken an even more serious turn after authorities charged the boat’s captain, Manuel Hernandez, 46, with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, according to reports. The investigation remains ongoing, with additional charges potentially following.

For the families involved, however, the questions surrounding the vessel are secondary to an unbearable loss: a young mother and a baby girl who were pulled from the same waters where 12 others survived.

And as investigators reconstruct the final moments before the boat overturned, one troubling detail about the number of people aboard and the boat’s operation could become central to explaining how a night on New York Harbor ended in tragedy.