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The victims, a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, were spending time with their grandparents at the time of the incident, according to reports
NEED TO KNOW
- Two children have died following a boating accident in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19
- Authorities have not released the victims’ names, but said the kids were a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy
- Both were thrown from a boat after the vessel hit a channel marker
Two children are dead after a boating incident in New Jersey over the weekend.
The identities of the individuals have not been publicly released, but the victims were a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, a spokesperson for the New Jersey State Police confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday, July 21.
PEOPLE reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
It is not immediately known if the children were related.
The victims were traveling inside a 30-foot Tidewater Custom vessel driven by Stephen Schneider of Bayville when the 63-year-old struck a channel marker in the Barnegat Bay at approximately 9 p.m. local time Sunday, July 19.
The impact of the collision caused the children to be thrown from the boat.
Laurie Schneider, 64, also of Bayville, was on board, and she and Stephen found the children unresponsive in the water. The kids were taken to a local hospital, where they were pronounced deceased.
Berkeley Township Councilman James Byrnes witnessed the incident and told News 12 New Jersey: “The firemen jumped right in.”
“The one child had a life jacket next to him,” he recalled of the scene, adding, “Of course, with CPR being performed, they’re going to remove it.”
Other community members also spoke out about the loss.
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“I just came to pay my respects quietly,” Michelle Monticello, who lives in the area, told the news station. “It’s a very tight community, feeling very disheartened, very sad.”
Authorities did not publicly disclose the Schneiders’ relationship to the children; however, the adults were the children’s grandparents, ABC7 NY reported.
“The bay is unforgiving,” Byrnes told the news station.
The incident remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
Read the original article on People
