Three bodies were pulled out from the Long Island Sound late Wednesday night after a Fourth of July fireworks show. Sources say the three deceased were all children.
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The tragedy occurred after a yacht capsized; 24 others that were on board were rescued. The 34-foot Silverton left the Seawanhaka Yacht Club in Oyster Bay and flipped over at about 10:10 p.m., throwing the passengers into the water, according to the New York Post.
Sam Galasso, a nearby boater, said:
“A friend of mine was in my boat and shined a spotlight on them because their boat was getting close to us. Then we saw them take a sharp left and it flipped. “My friend screamed, You’ve got to help these people. And I turned my boat and went toward them. Everyone in my boat did everything to get people out of the water,’’ It was complete mayhem, People started screaming.’’
Frankie Carbone, Galasso’s nephew said:
“The weather was fine, and then all of a sudden it changed within minutes. It was hailing at one point, it started raining. There were a lot of waves. Then we both looked over and saw them hit the water.’’
Parents frantically swam searching for their kids as some of them were not able to keep themselves above the violent waves. According to Barbone, none of the passengers were wearing a life jacket.
Barbone added:
“We pulled 16 or 17 people out, as it was sinking, the captain was standing on top, waving his hands. We threw out everything [life jackets and life preservers] we had to them.”
Sondra Rivera, Coast Guard spokeswoman said, 23 people were rescued by midnight. The NYPD recovered two others from the water after 2 a.m., but rescue efforts were eventually halted.
Kenneth Lack, Nassau Police Inspector, said the accident was likely caused by a quick shift in the weather in combination with the wake created by several boats leaving the area at the same time.
The boat is submerged 60-70 feet below the surface, and is expected to be recovered today.
