FERRY SLAMS KAYAKS
Drama on Hudson
A group of kayakers was fished out of the Hudson River Tuesday evening after a ferry collided with some and left one with a partially severed arm.
The paddlers were on a guided excursion with Manhattan Kayak when a New York Waterways ferry pulled out of Pier 84 near West 44th Street and started heading south on the river at about 5:45 p.m., according to police.
“I saw them pull one guy out,” said Shiobhan Cipriano, a bartender at the Pier 79 ferry hub.
“He looked a bit disoriented. But he was sitting up. He was upright when they pulled him out.”
A police source said the ferry captain was heading out of the terminal when he encountered extremely bright conditions from the sun to the west.
“It was quite bright. It was blinding,” the source said.
He was heading down toward Wall Street when he spotted something red out of the corner of his eye: the group of 10 kayakers in eight kayaks.
Two of the small craft were directly hit by the ferry while the others were overturned by the wake. “We kind of had people all over the place,” a police source said.
The excursion guide suffered a severe compound fracture of his arm, which was partially severed, cops said.
Officer Tommy Lee found the guide lying in his kayak in a pool of his own blood, cops said.
Lee applied a tourniquet to the arm of the victim, who was transported to Bellevue Hospital.
Four other kayakers suffered minor injuries in either the crash or the wake that capsized them.
“One kayaker has already been released, and the others are doing well,” Manhattan Kayak said in a statement.
“The rest of the group were OK and safely escorted back to land.”
The kayaking company added, “Our guide was the most seriously injured, and we are extremely relieved to hear that he is in good spirits.”
The captain of the ferry was given a Breathalyzer test at the scene and passed, according to sources.
Some wondered whether kayaking on that part of the river was a smart move.
“I would never want to kayak in these waters,” said Cipriano. “These waters are disgusting. And you have all this boat traffic. It’s kind of crazy.”