Investigators examine pilot's role in disaster

Investigators were tonight examining whether the pilot of a Staten Island ferry was taken ill or fell asleep moments before the vessel rammed into a dockside, killing at least 10 passengers.

Safety inspectors were waiting to question pilot Richard Smith, who attempted suicide by slashing his wrists and shooting himself with a high powered pellet gun shortly after the crash.

Meanwhile, there were fears that an 11th person had died in the crash.

Police said divers were searching the waters around the St George terminal for a local woman who was missing presumed dead.

A further 42 people were injured, some of whom lost limbs, in the accident near the terminal on Staten Island, New York, yesterday.

The confirmed dead, one woman and nine men, ranged from age 25 to 52, police said.

Passengers and witnesses said the 300ft boat, carrying 1,500 passengers, failed to slow down as it approached the dock and was speared by pillars several hundred feet from the usual docking point.