A devastating boating accident in the waters between Brooklyn and Staten Island left four people dead, one injured, and another missing on Sunday afternoon, authorities confirmed.
The vessel capsized around noon in the Ambrose Channel — New York City’s main shipping lane — prompting a frantic multi-agency rescue effort, according to the NYPD.
Per ABC News, five of the six people aboard were pulled from the freezing water, but four were found unresponsive. Police say all the individuals involved were men.
Emergency responders transported the victims to local medical facilities.
Two were airlifted to Staten Island Hospital, while three were taken to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook for urgent treatment.
Despite the efforts of rescue teams and medical staff, three people were initially tragically been pronounced dead.
CBS New York has since reported that family members have confirmed a fourth person has died as a result of the tragedy.
The fifth person remains in a stable condition, police say.
Family of Victim Speak Out
The family of 50-year-old Cecilio Adames told CBS News New York’s Naveen Dhaliwal that he and his friends had set out on a fishing trip, before the tragedy claimed his life.
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“I called him at 10 o’clock in the morning and asked, ‘Everything OK?’ He said, ‘It’s a lot of wind. Everything is dangerous.’ I told him, ‘Thank God you didn’t bring my daughter,’ because she sometimes went with him. He said, ‘No, it’s far away, like 25 miles.’ And then, disappeared,” his wife, Francisca Adames, recalled.
Loved ones described Cecilio as the backbone of their family.
“He’s that man, and everybody will remember him as that man. Because he always risked his life trying to help other people,” said his daughter, Alisha Adames.
The U.S. Coast Guard, NYPD, FDNY, and New Jersey State Police are continuing a search-and-rescue operation for the missing individual, but freezing water temperatures have raised concerns about the individual’s survival chances.
The Coast Guard deployed three rescue boats and an MH-65 helicopter to aid in the effort, concentrating their search about five miles southeast of Breezy Point, Queens.
Officials have not yet released details about the victims, the type of vessel involved, or the circumstances leading up to the tragic incident.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Our thoughts go out to every person impacted by this tragedy.
