Man Dead, 2 People Missing in Connecticut Boat Crash as Search Enters 'Recovery' Phase

Authorities are still searching for two missing people following a boat crash in Connecticut that left one man dead. 

Officials responded to a report of a boating accident in Old Saybrook around 9:15 p.m. local time on Monday, Sept. 3, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said in an email to PEOPLE.

The department added that a single boat carrying nine people was found floating and half-submerged near the Harbor One Marina in Old Saybrook. 

“There was significant damage to the boat, which struck the northern end of the east break wall at the mouth of the [Connecticut] River,” the agency said.

The department said that multiple people were ejected from the vessel, and one man was found deceased. He has not been identified at this time.

Six other people were taken to the hospital, authorities said. The boat’s operator is in critical condition.

Two other people were still missing following the crash. Search efforts lasted until around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, and resumed four and a half hours later. 

At a Sept. 4 morning press conference, DEEP EnCon Police Capt. Keith Williams said that the vessel was coming back from Block Island when the incident occurred. He described the vessel as a 31-foot open motorboat that authorities hope to recover sometime soon.

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“We’ll go as long as we can until we make recoveries,” Williams told reporters. 

Williams couldn’t offer answers to reporters’ questions on the identification of the two missing, if the 911 calls to emergency responders were from the people on the boat or if speed or impairment were factors in the crash. 

Currently, the operation is being deemed a search and recovery. “We always hope for the best," he said. “But at this point, it’s mostly likely going to be a recovery.”