NYC ferry crashes into dock injuring more than a dozen people

A commuter ferry carrying 326 people crashed while pulling into the docks at Lower Manhattan this moing, injuring at least 57 people.

The Seastreak Ferry made a 'hard docking' at Pier 11 just before 9am after it missed one slip and hit another, throwing dozens of people on board forward or to the floor.

One man is believed to have fallen down some steps from the upper level, smashing into a window.

Police and firefighters were on the scene and dozens of people were taken away in stretchers to nearby hospitals with more being treated at the scene.

Victims of the Seastreak Wall Street ferry accident are aided by rescue personnel as Pier 11 is tued into a makeshift triage after the boat crashed this moing

The Seastreak provides 'daily, year-round ferry services from Atlantic Highlands and Conners Highlands, NJ to Pier 11 Wall Street, East 35th Street, and shuttle service to the World Financial Center'

Seven of the injuries were considered serious, and 25 victims are listed in stable condition. Officials say 21 suffered minor injuries. A lot of others were being treated for shock

Most of the injuries are said to be head and spinal and one passenger said people were 'bleeding all over the place'. Emergency personnel were on the scene in three minutes

The ferry hit a loading barge while it was docking and caused extensive damage to the front starboard side

The ferry from Atlantic Highlands missed Slip B and banged into Slip D and was traveling around 10-12 knots when it crashed into the dock causing a six-foot hole in the hull of the boat

Seven of the injuries were considered serious, one critical and 25 victims are listed in stable condition. Officials say 21 suffered minor injuries. A lot of others were being treated for shock.

The nature of the injuries are said to be mainly head and spinal injuries. Critical victims have been taken to Downtown Hospital and Coell Medical Center while others were taken to hospitals in Brooklyn on an NYPD bus.

A 39-year-old is said to be currently undergoing surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

The pier had been tued into a make-shift triage as EMS workers tried to ascertain the extent of the injuries.

The Seastreak Wall Street Ferry is a popular choice of transport for workers commuting from New Jersey to New York.

The vessel left from Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey at 8am and was making its first stop at Wall Street, Manhattan, around 8.45am. It was due to continue on to East 35th Street.

Passengers recall that everything went from normal to dark in an instant as the impact ripped the front of the vessel open. Some people were thrown six feet into the air.

Passenger Ellen Foran, 57, of Neptune City, New Jersey, said: 'We were pulling into the dock. The boat hit the dock. We just tumbled on top of each other. I got thrown into everybody else. People were hysterical, crying.'

Brett Cibullash said: 'A lot of people were standing up and got thrown into each other when the boat hit something with a bang.

'Some people hit their heads off the glass and were bleeding. Others had neck braces and oxygen masks. It was chaos.

'Everyone was trying to help each other, especially those who were not injured.'

Another passenger said: 'The boat hit the dock like a bomb, people were bleeding all over the place. It was mass chaos'

Seastreak President Jim Barker explained what happened: 'The ferry struck a loading barge that it was passing when it was preparing to dock. There was a jolt when this occurred. 

'It caused damage to the vessel and threw people forward into the seats and the walls, causing a number of injuries. This is something that has never happened before.'

The route the ferry was taking from Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey to Pier 11 at Wall Street this moing, carrying 326 people

Injured passengers of the Seastreak Wall Street ferry are aided to by EMS at Pier 11 shortly after the accident at 9am this moing

The ferry from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., banged into the mooring as it arrived at South Street in lower Manhattan during moing rush hour, injuring as many as 60 people, at least two critically, officials said

One passenger said a lot of people hit their heads off windows or off the back of seats and were bleeding from open head wounds

Injured passengers from the Seastreak Wall Street ferry wait for transport before they are taken to local hospitals - for serious injuries - and for minor injuries to hospitals in Brooklyn

As well as major and minor injuries, a lot of passengers were treated for shock

Pictures from the scene show the bow of the boat on the starboard side ripped open like an aluminum can. A hit on the front of a boat would cause the biggest impact for the passengers on board.

Two brothers on board said there was absolutely no waing this was about to happen and the vessel was traveling at full speed when it crashed 'hard and fast' into the dock.

Marine traffic.com said the vessel would have been traveling at approximately 10 to 12 knots - around 14 mph which is considered an acceptable speed for a vessel coming into dock.

Coastguards were on the scene conducting routine alcohol and drug checks on the captain and crew of the boat.

They will also look at the speed the ship was going and any mechanical problems that may have taken place.

The vessel was recently inspected and new engines put in, according to NBC.

Dee Wertz, who was on shore, waiting for the ferry, saw the impact.

'It was coming in a little wobbly,' she said. 'It hit the right side of the boat on the dock hard, like a bomb.'

After the impact, the boat was able to dock normally. Wertz said passengers raced off once the ramp was down.

'I think people just wanted to get the heck off the boat as soon as they could,' she said.

Police commissioner Ray Kelly said an investigation is being conducted into the cause of the crash.

Mayor Bloomberg arrives at the South Street seaport about an hour after a ferry crashed into the dock, injuring 57 people

Dozens of passengers were put on boards and some were given neck braces and covered in blankets after the ferry from New Jersey struck a dock during rush hour

 

A passenger on board tweeted a picture of a smashed window on board and someone on the dock pictured the damage done to the bow of the boat

Many people were being treated for shock or minor injuries at a makeshift triage area instead of going to hospitals

An injured person is carried to a waiting ambulance following the early moing ferry accident during rush hour in Lower Manhattan

Around 300 people were on the boat and at least 17 people are thought to be injured though more than 50 people are being looked at by paramedics

 

Firefighters and EMS workers flocked to Pier 11 on Wall Street with a make-shift triage being made on the dock while injuries were being assessed

Passenger Chris Avore told ABC what happened: 'Nothing seemed like it was going to be out of the ordinary.

'There was once or twice where I was talking with a colleague where we actually thought it was coming in a little hot near Brooklyn, where we're not used to seeing it.

'Then the next thing we knew, you feel the jolt and then everybody goes flying.

Once you basically pass the Statue of Liberty, you pretty much know that you're going to be there soon, so a lot of people start standing up, milling around, getting their coats and everything like that.

'Anybody who was standing went to the ground.'

The high speed ferry is 140-feet long, 30-feet wide and can hold up to 505 passengers and crew. It has been in operation since September 2003.

According to the website, the Seastreak provides 'daily, year-round ferry services from Atlantic Highlands and Conners Highlands, NJ to Pier 11 Wall Street, East 35th Street, and shuttle service to the World Financial Center.'

The pier is expected to reopen again around 1pm today.