Mom and baby daughter dead after boat capsizes near Statue of Liberty

🚨Cops say a boat carrying 14 people overturned in New York Harbor Saturday night

🚨A 5-month-old baby and  its 27-year-old mother later died at a Brooklyn hospital

🚨The boat capsized near Liberty Island, which sits on the NJ side of the harbor

A 5-month-old baby and their 27-year-old mother died and the operator was arrested after a boat carrying 14 people capsized near Liberty Island in New York Harbor Saturday night.

The NYPD says that emergency crews rescued most of the 14 people on board from New York Harbor around 10:20 p.m., by the time the NYPD Harbor Unit, scuba team and aviation unit responded.

The baby and the woman later died at NYU Langone Brooklyn. The U.S. Coast Guard said they were mother and child.

Manuel Hernandez,46, of New York, was charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. Police are investigating if Hernandez was running an illegal charter operation.

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What happened in New York Harbor

The boat was a 22-foot Bayliner speedboat, according to the Coast Guard.  The manufacturer's website says it can carry up to 12 passengers. It was not disclosed where the boat launched from.

Photos posted by the New York Post showed some of those who were rescued wearing white dresses.

Liberty Island's New Jersey connection

Liberty Island is home to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. While the island is an enclave of Manhattan, it is physically located on the New Jersey side of the harbor.

That puts Saturday night's deadly boating accident just off a landmark that has a unique connection to both New York and New Jersey.

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