1 dead, 2 missing after motorboat hits a jetty and crashes in Connecticut

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. -- One person was found dead and two were were missing after their motorboat hit a jetty and crashed, authorities in Connecticut said Tuesday.

A 31-foot (9-meter) boat carrying nine people crashed at about 9:15 p.m. Monday in Old Saybrook, Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said in a statement. Officers from DEEP, the Coast Guard and several other agencies responded and found the half-sunken boat near a marina.

One man was found dead on the boat and six people including the boat's captain were taken to a hospital, DEEP said. The search for the remaining two people was ongoing Tuesday morning.

DEEP said there was significant damage to the boat, which hit the east-facing jetty at the mouth of the Connecticut River.

The crash happened near where another boat crashed on Labor Day 2023, sending four people to a hospital. Speaking at a briefing Tuesday, Capt. Keith Williams of the DEEP police force pushed back at the suggestion that the spot is particularly hazardous.

“The jetties are well marked,” he said.

Williams said crews hoped to recover the damaged boat as well as the remains of the missing boaters Tuesday.

The man who was found dead on board the vessel was not wearing a life jacket, he said.

Old Saybrook is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of New Haven.