57 injured as New York commuter ferry collides with dock

At least 57 people were injured, 11 seriously, when a commuter ferry struck a dock in New York City’s financial district during the morning rush-hour.

A corner of the vessel was ripped open, and passengers said people fell on each other, screaming and crying.

One witness said that, just moments before the accident, a ferry employee had mentioned that the boat had recently had trouble with manoeuvring. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Passengers on board the Seastreak Wall Street ferry said scores of people who had been waiting to dis-embark were hurled to the deck after a routine trip across New York Harbour.

“We were pulling into the dock. The boat hit the dock. We just tumbled on top of each other... people were hysterical,” said Ellen Foran.

Firefighters were still carrying people away on stretchers an hour after the crash.

More than 340 passengers and crew members were on board the ferry from New Jersey, one of many which carry commuters to the island of Manhattan.

Dee Wertz was on shore waiting for the ferry and saw the impact. She said she had been talking with a ferry employee about how the boat’s captains had been complaining lately about its manoeuvrability.

“He was telling me that none of these guys like this boat,” she said. “It was coming in a little wobbly. It hit the right side of the boat on the dock hard, like a bomb.”

The ferry, built in 2003, had recently undergone a major overhaul which gave it new engines and a new propulsion system, but officials said it was too soon to tell whether they played any role in the crash.

The ferry company, Seastreak LLC, said it would work with investigators to determine the cause of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board said it had dispatched investigators to the scene.

Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City’s transportation commissioner, said the ferry was coming in at 10 to 12 knots, or about 19kph, when it collided with one slip and hit a second.

After the impact, the boat was able to dock normally.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department of New York said seven people were hurt, three of them seriously, when a crane collapsed at a construction site in Queens yesterday afternoon.

The crane was visible along the East River behind a big neon Pepsi Cola sign, a local landmark.