Sara Sanchez, 27, and her five-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, were removed from the water near Liberty Island after a 22-foot Yamaha speedboat overturned near the Statue of Liberty in New York around 10.25pm on Saturday, local time. Authorities are investigating whether the vessel was an illegal charter, which is a passenger-for-hire vessel operation that lacks US Coast Guard credentials, safety equipment and inspection certificates. Ms Sanchez’s partner and father of Antonella, Andres Garcia, was on the boat but did not survive. Mr Garcia, originally from Colombia, typically works seven days a week across multiple jobs to support his young family, friend and colleague Antonio Russo told People. “He didn’t realise what was going on,” Mr Russo said of the phone call he received from Mr Garcia after the rescue.