At least fifty-seven people are injured, two critically, after a commuter ferry boat slammed into a pier in lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. The high-speed ferry crashed into the pier near Wall Street this morning (January 9).
The New York City authorities have confirmed that two of the fifty-seven (latest) passengers on board the ferry are hospitalized in critical condition after the crash at 08.43 EST (13.43GMT) in the vicinity of South Street Seaport. Eye witnesses declare that there was a massive impact as the craft slammed into the pier, sending passengers flying, as the ferry came into the dock. Nine other passengers are in a condition described as serious, seven "guarded".
There were around 330 people on board the boat, Seastreak Wall Street, which had departed from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, and which slowed damage to the prow after the incident.
11 people died in a ferry crash at Statten Island in 2003, the same vessel (Andrew J. Barbieri) being involved in another ferry incident in 2010, in which several dozens of people were injured.