Dozens injured after tour boat crashes into pier in New York City

The New York Post reports that 35 people suffered varying degrees of injury after a sightseeing vessel carrying nearly 400 passengers crashed into a pier on the Hudson River in New York City on Saturday, June 21.

Local officials said the sightseeing vessel Timeless was manoeuvring to berth to disembark passengers at the pier near West 125th Street when a line broke, causing it to hit the pier at around 16:18 local time on Saturday.

One of the passengers recounted that some of her companions had already gathered at the onboard area where the gangway would be placed in preparation for disembarkation when the vessel struck the pier.

Because the area had no safety railings or other supporting fixtures for those passengers to hold onto, several of them fell due to the force of the impact.

The reported injuries were mostly minor in nature, though New York City Fire Department (FDNY) officials confirmed that around 20 passengers have been brought to various hospitals for assessment.

The FDNY assured that no one on the vessel had fallen overboard and that all of the passengers have safely disembarked.

Timeless is operated by Empire Cruises. The vessel sails regularly on charter trips on the Hudson River.