Officials on Wednesday identified the man found dead on a boat that crashed into a Connecticut jetty on Labor Day, as the continued resumed for two missing men.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection identified the victim as Christopher Hallahan, 34, of Westbrook.
Six other boat occupants had been hospitalized — five men and one woman, all in their mid-20s to 30s, officials said. Among them was the boat’s operator, who was still in critical condition Wednesday, WFSB reported. Many of the others had been released.
Search efforts resumed early Wednesday for two men who remained missing.
The 31-foot-long boat was carrying nine people when it slammed into a jetty off Old Saybrook at about 9:15 p.m. Monday as it returned from Block Island. It hit the east-facing jetty at the mouth of the Connecticut River.
Authorities pulled the boat from the water around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday near the Harbor One Marina, where a damage assessment would also help investigators piece together what had happened.
Officials said both missing men were in their 20s, and that all of the boat’s occupants had connections to the local community. While searchers were “hoping for the best” for a rescue, the mission was “most likely going to be a recovery,” Capt. Keith Williams said Tuesday.
Investigators were examining weather conditions, as well as the boat’s GPS system, to determine its speed, path and any other factors that might provide answers, WFSB reported.