New York (CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM) — A ferry boat crashed into the Staten Island Ferry terminal Saturday morning, leaving at least 60 people injured, authorities said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office told CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM that 60 passengers had minor injuries.
The ferry boat, the Andrew J. Barberi, was the same boat involved in an October 2003 crash that killed 11 people and injured 42, U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Barbara Miller told CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM.
There were 252 passengers and 18 crew members on board the vessel at the time of Saturday’s crash, Miller said.
She said investigators were trying to determine the cause of the accident. Initial reports indicate the captain may have lost control of the boat’s engines, she said.
Video from CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM affiliate NY1 shows rescue workers at the scene carrying people on stretchers.
“As soon as we got to the port it just slammed right into the dock and pushed everybody back. It was chaos, pandemonium. It was something like I’ve never been through in my life,” ferry passenger Alex Gonzalez told NY1.
Five ferries carry about 65,000 passengers daily on a 5.2-mile run between Staten Island and the southern tip of Manhattan.