Smithtown Bay Constables say they rescued six boaters on rough water late Tuesday night.

Constables say the boat was pushed into rocks and began taking on water off the coast of Cranes Neck in Smithtown Bay.

A distress call came in around 9:30 p.m. to Smithtown Public Safety and Suffolk police for the 18-foot vessel, which had five men and one woman on board, a release says.

The constables arrived first, soon followed by Suffolk's Marine Bureau amid heavy winds. The constables extracted the passengers and took them onto a patrol boat.

Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim says the incident could have been a "terrible tragedy" if it weren't for the action of the bay constables and Suffolk crews.

Officials say the boaters were evaluated and treated by EMS crews upon return to land.