Boat captain arrested after vessel capsizes near Statue of Liberty, killing woman and her 5-month-old daughter

The captain was charged with reckless endangerment, officials said.

A woman and her 5-month-old daughter died after a boat capsized near Liberty Island in the New York Harbor on Saturday night.

The boat’s captain, identified as Manuel Hernandez, 46, was arrested and initially charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, according to the New York Police Department and the Coast Guard.

He was taken into federal custody and the New York Southern District Court will now take on the investigation, the NYPD confirmed to NBC News.

Court records were not immediately available, and it was unclear Sunday whether Hernandez has an attorney. The New York County Defender Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Investigators with the Coast Guard are coordinating with New York police to determine “whether the operation constitutes an illegal charter operation,” the Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday.