A contractor mistakenly drilled through an underwater tube to Manhattan, causing it to leak

A contractor conducting work beneath New York City’s East River mistakenly drilled into an underwater tunnel on Wednesday, causing a leak that sent water pouring into the passageway. The Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which connects Manhattan and Queens and is a critical artery for nearly 100,000 vehicles daily, experienced this breach on the Manhattan side, leading officials to quickly address the situation and halt traffic.

The incident occurred at around 12:30 p.m. when the drilling company punctured the tunnel’s cast iron lining, allowing water to flood into the tunnel’s exhaust duct and down onto the vehicles below. According to Cathy Sheridan, president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the drill created a 2.5-inch (6.3-cm) hole through the tunnel’s protective layers, overwhelming its built-in defenses.

“There are numerous safeguards in the tunnel, but unfortunately, when someone drills through every layer, it’s inevitable that a leak will occur,” Sheridan explained during a press briefing. Video footage from the scene, widely shared on social media, showed water gushing from the vents overhead and splashing onto cars below. Confused drivers could be heard asking about the situation, with one person saying, “Why is the tunnel leaking? What’s going on?”

Despite the dramatic scene, no injuries were reported, and officials quickly moved to investigate the cause of the breach. Sheridan elaborated that the drill passed through approximately 100 feet (30.5 m) of material — half of which was water, with the remaining half being soil — before finally breaking into the tunnel.

The contractor responsible for the incident, Warren George, had been hired to perform investigative underwater drilling as part of a city project to build a new esplanade near the United Nations building. Josh Krauss, chief infrastructure officer at the city’s Economic Development Corporation, confirmed that the work was related to this project. When reached for comment, a Warren George representative declined to offer further information.

Officials are now focusing on plugging the hole and ensuring the tunnel’s safety and structural integrity before fully reopening it to traffic. The exact timeline for repairs is not yet clear, but an investigation is ongoing to understand how the error occurred and to prevent similar incidents in the future.