Ingrid Nikoloudus, 76, was injured in the crash. (Lisa Hagen)
A ferry packed with tourists headed to the Statue of Liberty made a hard landing at the Liberty Island pier today but no serious injuries were reported.
The Miss New Jersey ferry held 497 passengers and a crew of nine when it struck the dock just after 3 p.m., the Coast Guard said.
“They hit the pylon. Smashed it completely,” said Bob Young, 63, of New South Wales, Australia.
He said he was at the front rail on the starboard side of the ferry when he expected it to turn and come parallel to the dock. “But instead he went straight ahead and just ran straight into it. He did reverse sometime before (impact) but it was too late. Too late, too much momentum,” Young said.
“People on the dock were just screaming because they could see it coming” he added, but those on the ferry were calmer. “There was no panic on board.”
A Coast Guard spokeswoman said three people suffered minor injuries.
“People just fell a bit and maybe hit their heads,” said Young. “They walked them off. They were all OK. No broken arms.”
Another tourist, Spiro Nikoloudus, 42, was on the pier with family members, waiting to return from the island.
“All of a sudden I noticed the ship wasn’t going to make the pier and I yelled out. There was no prior warning from anybody,” he said.
“It was coming at such a pace that I actually thought the pier was going to collapse,” said Nikoloudus, who said his 76-year-old mother Ingrid was injured during the commotion. “It was mass pandemonium. People just stampeded off the pier. My mother got knocked over.”