Nineteen people were rescued from the East River on Sunday afternoon after their dragon-team boat took on water and sank.
No one was hurt in the incident, which happened just after two members of the team became engaged to be married.
"He proposed before we went down, thankfully," Vicky Lee told NBC 4 New York.
Waves apparently came over the sides of the vessel, typically used in the annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York. The boat was submerged by the time rescuers arrived, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
The boat, belonging to the Azumi Rowing Club, was being paddling to Whitestone in Queens. It began to take on water at about 1:30 p.m. near College Point, fire officials said.
The 19 people, all of whom were wearing life jackets, were taken to the College Point Yacht Club in good condition.
Dragon boats are sleek boats typically decorated with Chinese dragon heads and tails. The boats are raced during the festival.
