The operator of a boat that overturned near the Statue of Liberty, killing a woman and a baby, has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, New York police said.

Officials said a large search and rescue operation was launched after the incident near New York Harbour on Saturday night. Twelve people who were initially rescued from the water are all reported to be in stable condition.

New York police divers later found a 27-year-old woman and a five-month-old girl, who were transported to a nearby hospital where they later died.

The names of passengers and the specific cause of the incident have not been released by officials.

Around 22:25 local time (03:25 BST), police received a 911 call reporting an overturned boat in the waters near Liberty Island, which houses the iconic statue.

A nearby tour operator Sea the City saw the capsized boat and helped pull 11 people from the water, the company's founder Adam Schwartz said according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

The rescue involved two Coast Guard boats, four fire department boats, two police boats and a police helicopter, the USCG said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials said.

The boat's operator, a 46-year-old Manhattan resident, faces 13 counts of reckless endangerment, officials said.

Coast Guard investigators are also determining whether the boat was illegally chartered.

An illegal charter is any passenger-for-hire vessel operation that does not have required credentials, safety equipment, and certificate of inspection.

"We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors from the water," said Capt Doreen McCarthy of the USCG.

 

SOURCE/AUTHOR : BBC NEWS/Grace Eliza Goodwin, New York