One of the three people killed when a fishing boat capsized off the coast of Queens was a hardworking father, his ex-wife told the Daily News Monday.
Cecilio Javier Adames was one of the six men aboard the doomed vessel that sank in Ambrose Channel Sunday, said his tearful ex-wife, who did not provide her name.
The former wife, who remained friendly with Adames, said she had gotten word of his death from her sister.
“It’s too much in the water,” said the devastated woman, who shares a son with Adames. “The water is too cold. Too cold!”
Adames worked as a for-hire driver and did maintenance in an office, she said.
A GoFundMe was launched early Monday to cover funeral expenses for Adames and repatriate him to his native Dominican Republic.
“He was a vibrant, loving person and had a heart full of kindness,” posted Adames’ son Brian. “He touched the lives of so many, and his absence is deeply felt.”
Cecilio Javier Adames was one of six aboard the doomed vessel that sank in Ambrose Channel Sunday. (GoFundMe)
The boat, which departed from a dock on Cross Bay Blvd. near 162nd Ave. in Howard Beach, began its trip on the Shellbank Basin, a narrow inlet leading to Jamaica Bay.
Authorities were alerted to a vessel taking on water near Breezy Point around noon Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard dispatched three rescue boats from Station New York and Station Sandy Hook alongside a helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City for a frantic search.
Coast Guard rescue crews, along with the NYPD Aviation Unit and Sandy Hook Pilots, raced to the boat’s location, where five people were pulled from the channel and the ongoing search for a missing sixth person was launched.
Four of those rescued were unresponsive, according to the Coast Guard.
Two of the victims were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital North and three were taken to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, where emergency medical services were waiting.
The Ambrose Channel is the main path for shipping in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is several miles from Breezy Point, where the boat was first reported to be in peril.
Adames’ ex-wife said she kept imagining his last moments in the water clinging to the boat.
“I can’t believe it,” she said.
With Rocco Parascandola and Nicholas Williams