The operator of a boat that overturned near the Statue of Liberty, killing a woman and a baby,has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, New York police said.

Officials said a large search and rescue operation was launched after the incident near New York Harbour on Saturday night. Twelve people who were initially rescued from the water are all reported to be in stable condition.

New York police divers later found a 27-year-old woman and a five-month-old girl, who were transported to a nearby hospital where they later died.

The names of passengers and the specific cause of the incident have not been released by officials.

While officials have not publicly named the two victims, co-workers of the woman who died have done so. Law enforcement sources who spoke to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, made the same identification.

The New York restaurant Il Punto Ristorante said on social media that the two victims, Sara Sanchez and her baby Antonella Garcia, were the wife and child of one of their employees, Andres Garcia, who was on the boat as well when it overturned.

"What was meant to be a joyful family outing ended in unimaginable tragedy," the restaurant wrote on Instagram.

Around 22:25 local time (02:25 GMT), police received a 911 call reporting an overturned boat in the waters near Liberty Island, which houses the iconic statue.

A nearby tour operator Sea the City saw the capsized boat and helped pull 11 people from the water, the company's founder Adam Schwartz said, according to CBS.

The rescue involved two US Coast Guard (USCG) boats, four fire department boats, two police boats and a police helicopter, the USCG said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials said.

The boat's operator, a 46-year-old Manhattan resident, faces 13 counts of reckless endangerment, officials said. He has been identified as Manuel Hernandez, according to US media including CBS.

Coast Guard investigators are also determining whether the boat was illegally chartered.

An illegal charter is any passenger-for-hire vessel operation that does not have required credentials, safety equipment, and certificate of inspection.

"We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors from the water," said Capt Doreen McCarthy of the USCG.