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American Morning
Deadly Ferry Disaster in New York
Aired October 16, 2003 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to the deadly ferry disaster in New York. At least 10 people were killed yesterday when a commuter ferry slammed into a concrete pier, tearing a gaping hole along the side of the 300 foot vessel.
The head of the NTSB said this morning that investigators believe weather could be a factor in yesterday's crash, but they won't say whether it was the direct cause.
CNN's Michael Okwu is on the scene for us this morning with more -- good morning, Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Of course, you mentioned the NTSB. They are scheduled, or were scheduled, anyway, to meet at this hour. We understand that they were planning to meet with the ferry operators as well as some of the members of the response teams that were here yesterday, including the New York City Police Department and, of course, the fire department.
Their focus at some point along the way will be looking at human, weather and mechanical factors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN ENGLEMAN, CHAIRWOMAN, NTSB: We're going to focus on facts and science and data and separate that from any guess or supposition. So we're on the job and we're getting to it immediately this morning. We will conduct personal interviews with those parties that were involved. We'll be talking to the crew, the passengers, the emergency responders and any other folks that were involved in either seeing or having information about this tragic accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Again, about 1,500 people were on board the Andrew Barberi, one of the famed Staten Island ferries. Ten people were killed, 32 other injured after the ferry slammed into the pier here at St. Georges Terminal in Staten Island.
Some of the victims suffered severed limbs. Some sought refuge by plunging into the cold waters yesterday. The crew has been tested, we are told, for alcohol and drug consumption. And law enforcement sources, of course, have been telling us that the captain, after the boat docked and after witnessing some of this tragedy, went home and tried to kill himself -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Staten Island ferry running today.
Michael Okwu, thanks for updating us on that.
Appreciate it.
Coming up in just a few moments, we're going to talk to a passenger on the ferry who was an eyewitness to all that horror and also knows the captain who was at the helm. That's just ahead.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 16, 2003 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to the deadly ferry disaster in New York. At least 10 people were killed yesterday when a commuter ferry slammed into a concrete pier, tearing a gaping hole along the side of the 300 foot vessel.
The head of the NTSB said this morning that investigators believe weather could be a factor in yesterday's crash, but they won't say whether it was the direct cause.
CNN's Michael Okwu is on the scene for us this morning with more -- good morning, Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Of course, you mentioned the NTSB. They are scheduled, or were scheduled, anyway, to meet at this hour. We understand that they were planning to meet with the ferry operators as well as some of the members of the response teams that were here yesterday, including the New York City Police Department and, of course, the fire department.
Their focus at some point along the way will be looking at human, weather and mechanical factors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN ENGLEMAN, CHAIRWOMAN, NTSB: We're going to focus on facts and science and data and separate that from any guess or supposition. So we're on the job and we're getting to it immediately this morning. We will conduct personal interviews with those parties that were involved. We'll be talking to the crew, the passengers, the emergency responders and any other folks that were involved in either seeing or having information about this tragic accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Again, about 1,500 people were on board the Andrew Barberi, one of the famed Staten Island ferries. Ten people were killed, 32 other injured after the ferry slammed into the pier here at St. Georges Terminal in Staten Island.
Some of the victims suffered severed limbs. Some sought refuge by plunging into the cold waters yesterday. The crew has been tested, we are told, for alcohol and drug consumption. And law enforcement sources, of course, have been telling us that the captain, after the boat docked and after witnessing some of this tragedy, went home and tried to kill himself -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Staten Island ferry running today.
Michael Okwu, thanks for updating us on that.
Appreciate it.
Coming up in just a few moments, we're going to talk to a passenger on the ferry who was an eyewitness to all that horror and also knows the captain who was at the helm. That's just ahead.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
