5 dead in staten isl ferry crash

[stitch'sohana]

CNN has breaking news on it now. Its sad, they said people were jumping off the boat to save their lives.

 

[tkyes]

MSN says 12 -


12 people killed in N.Y. ferry crash

Vessel accident at Staten Island terminal; service suspended


NEW YORK, Oct. 15 — At least 12 people were killed and many more were seriously injured when a Staten Island ferry crashed as it was docking at a terminal Wednesday, authorities said.

RESCUERS PULLED people from the water and were working to save others, New York 1 cable news reported. The Associated Press quoted police sources as at least a dozen people were killed as passengers jumped for their lives.

NBC affiliate WNBC-TV reported that many dozens more may have been injured. At least 20 of the wounded were reported in critical condition.

“There were numerous injuries like fractures and lacerations,” Maria Lamberti, a spokeswoman for the New York Fire Department, told The Associated Press. “There were a couple of people with amputations — legs and arms.”

The ferry, the Andrew J. Barberi, has a capacity of 6,000, but it was unclear how many people were aboard at the time of the accident.

Passengers had packed the front of the vessel as they prepared to get off at the terminal, WNBC reported. The injuries were aggravated by the crush of the crowd.

“It was like an absolute horror,” Bob Carroll, who was aboard the ferry, told NY1.

“The whole side of the boat looked like an opener on a can.”


Ferry service was suspended, and the lower level of the Varrazano Narrows Bridge was closed at rush hour. Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox American League playoff game to visit the scene.

Fire officials told NY1 the ferry crashed into its slip at the St. George’s Terminal or collided with another boat shortly before 3:30 p.m. as it arrived on the Staten Island end of its run across New York Harbor. Heavy winds, with gusts up to 40 mph, raked the entire region for most of Wednesday.

Five boats make 104 trips carrying 70,000 commuters a day between the two boroughs.

 

[stitch'sohana]

How awful! I hope the numbers don't go any higher than 12.

 

[JDY]

Channel 7 in NY is saying 14

 

[CRB#33]

Oh that's awful

The wind has been horrendous around here. What a tragedy.

 

[RhondaS]

CNN reported a few minutes ago that the ferry boat driver committed suicide when he got home.

This whole situation is such a tragedy.

 

[Deb in IA]

Toll is back down to 10.

From MSNBC: Local news organizations quoted official sources as saying at least 14 people were killed as passengers jumped for their lives, but those tallies may have included some bodies that were counted twice, they said.


Also, ferry captain TRIED to commit suicide, but is hospitalized now being treated at a hospital: WNBC reported that one of the ferry’s two captains jumped ship after the crash and tried to kill himself at his home on Staten Island. He was being treated at St. Vincent’s Hospital, where his condition was not released. Unconfirmed reports said he slit his wrists and shot himself with a BB gun.

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

Oh God! I feel terrible for the captain!! No, no, I feel awful about the other people too...believe me, I really do, but the poor captain must feel horrible about all this! Imagine the guilt he must be feeling (though I'm not blaming him at all).

How absolutely terrible...I certainly hope the number of fatalities does not go up.