A nighttime celebration on the glittering waters of New York Harbor ended in unimaginable tragedy when an overcrowded motorboat capsized near Liberty Island, killing a young Queens mother and her 5-month-old daughter as the baby’s father watched helplessly.

Sara Sanchez, 27, and infant Antonella Garcia were identified as the two victims of the disaster, which unfolded shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

The family had reportedly joined other passengers for a birthday celebration aboard a 21-foot Yamaha AR210. Fourteen people—including the boat’s operator—were on board when the vessel overturned, throwing every person into the dark harbor.

Within moments, a joyful excursion became a desperate fight for survival.

Emergency calls brought a massive response from the FDNY, NYPD Harbor Unit and other rescue teams. Boats searched the water around Liberty Island as first responders pulled survivors from the harbor and rushed victims toward waiting ambulances.

Sanchez and her baby were recovered in critical condition but could not be saved.

The child’s father, who was also Sanchez’s boyfriend, survived the capsizing. Photographs captured him after the rescue, soaked and overwhelmed with grief as first responders worked around him.

The image conveyed the magnitude of what had just happened: a man had boarded the vessel with his partner and infant daughter, only to return to shore without them.

Sanchez and Antonella had moved into their College Point neighborhood only two months earlier.

“I’m in shock right now,” neighbor Diego Naranjo said after learning of their deaths. “She was a really nice person. My condolences to her family.”

Most of those aboard were from Queens, according to police sources. The passenger group included six other women between the ages of 20 and 45 and five other men ranging from 29 to 58. One passenger was from Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Several survivors required hospitalization after being pulled from the water.

Investigators are now focusing on why so many people were aboard the relatively small recreational boat and what caused it to overturn in one of the busiest—and potentially most hazardous—urban waterways in the country.

Online specifications suggest the model generally carries approximately 10 people, though safe capacity can depend on passenger weight, water conditions and how the vessel is being operated.

One well-placed source argued that the boat should have carried no more than five passengers in the part of the harbor where the accident occurred.

“Recreational boating in New York Harbor is the Wild West,” the source said, citing submerged debris, rocky barriers, bridge abutments, anchorage chains, shipping channels and marine traffic.

Those hazards can be difficult to see, particularly at night. New York Harbor is not an open recreational lake. Powerful currents, commercial ships and extensive infrastructure can turn an ordinary mistake into a catastrophe.

Authorities have not yet publicly announced a definitive cause of the capsizing.

The vessel’s alleged operator, 46-year-old Manuel Hernandez, was charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, police sources said. Additional charges connected to the deaths of Sanchez and Antonella could follow as the investigation continues.

The accusations remain allegations, and Hernandez is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. His precise relationship to the family and other passengers has not been disclosed.

On Sunday, the overturned boat was lifted from the harbor by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crane and transported to the NYPD Harbor Unit base in Brooklyn. The once-celebratory vessel hung above the water as investigators prepared to examine it for mechanical defects, impact damage and other possible evidence.

The scene revived painful memories of another deadly New York boating disaster.

In July 2022, an overloaded boat capsized near Manhattan’s Pier 86. A 7-year-old boy and a 50-year-old woman were killed after becoming trapped underneath it.

Now another mother and child have been lost to the city’s waters.

For investigators, critical questions remain: Was the boat overloaded? Were passengers wearing or able to reach life jackets? Did the vessel strike something? How quickly did it overturn, and could the deaths have been prevented?

For Sanchez’s loved ones, however, the tragedy cannot be reduced to capacity numbers or criminal counts.

Sara was a 27-year-old mother beginning a new chapter in College Point. Antonella had been alive for only five months. The child’s father survived a disaster that took both of them in seconds.

Against the illuminated skyline and within sight of the Statue of Liberty, a family’s ordinary celebration became a permanent nightmare.

The harbor returned to calm—but for one grieving father and two devastated families, nothing will ever be calm again.