Boat Capsizes In Hudson River Killing Woman And 7-Year-Old Boy

New York City -- A rented boat capsized in the Hudson River and killed a 7-year-old boy and a 50-year-old woman.

All 12 people aboard were sent into the water and remained trapped underneath the boat until rescuers arrived, New York City officials said.

The private boat was chartered out of New Jersey by a group of friends and family, who began their trip from Weehawken on Tuesday. The boat flipped in the Hudson River off midtown Manhattan at around 2:45 p.m., ABC News reported.

The boat owner followed them on a jet ski and saw the vessel flip over. Authorities said the owner then rushed to the NY Waterway terminal and asked for help from nearby ferries, two of which came to help the stranded people that were clinging onto the capsized 18-foot vessel, according to NBC New York.

Rescuers from the police and fire department also arrived at the scene. A total of 13 people, including the owner riding on the jet ski, were rescued out of the choppy waters.

The woman and child were rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Their identities were not revealed.

"The individual that I found, the small one that I found, was wearing a life vest. Obviously, any time it's a child, it changes maybe your emotional state, but you just have a job to do and you do it," Ryan Warnock, of Rescue Company 1, said about the rescue efforts, according to CBS New York.

Authorities said the captain of the boat was in critical condition. Two others were also critically injured while the remaining individuals sustained minor injuries.

Henry Kaden, who saw the rescue mission unfold from his apartment in Union City, told the outlet that he was “shocked to see people on an overturned boat.”

"Luckily, the ferries were right there. They helped save a lot of people," Kaden added.

Investigators believe the vessel may have flipped over after being struck by a wave, launched at them by a ferry passing by.

The incident is being investigated, and officials will look at the water conditions as well as the boat’s capacity to determine what led to the accident.

“There's a lot of commercial and recreational traffic during the day here. We also have a lot of people on Jet Skis, kayaks,” Inspector Anthony Russo, commanding officer of the New York Police Department’s Harbor Unit, said at a news conference Tuesday.

“The Hudson River is always a dangerous place to operate,” he added.

“Our hearts go out to a group of people who were just using the water in our city,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the news conference. “This is a devastating moment for them and those who were part of the families that were there.”