The tugboat, dubbed the Specialist, was one of three guiding a ship carrying a piece of construction equipment to a site in Jersey City when it struck the barge and sank.
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A New York State DEC boat heads out from Tarrytown, toward the Tappan Zee Bridge early Sunday morning, March 13, 2016, after a fatal boating accident the day before.
A Montauk-registered tugboat sank in the Hudson River north of New York City on Saturday morning after striking a barge at the Tappan Zee Bridge, reportedly killing at least one crew member.
Officials say the boat struck a barge near the Tappan Zee Bridge, before sinking yesterday around 5:15 a.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday night said that after 12 hours of looking, they had suspended the active search for the two missing crew members. Workers continued to look for two other missing crew members, but conditions forced them to stop underwater dives by 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
But Cuomo, at another press conference in Tarrytown, said one of the unnamed victims was a 29-year-old man. “You have three people who left for work and who are not gonna come home”, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
The contingent came too close to the barge causing the Specialist to sink and leak 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel creating a slick 100 yards wide and 5 miles long. according to Cuomo.
Investigators did not release the identities of the two missing crew members.
James Mercante, an attorney for the owner of Specialist, said the crew was licensed, competent and experienced.
“They were hoping there was a different outcome and unfortunately there wasn’t”, Cuomo said. No one on that barge was injured.
The tugboat was damaged to the point that a full search was not possible, he said. An investigation after the crash led to the stationary barge having to add more lighting to provide proper illumination.
That bridge connects Westchester and Rockland counties north of New York City.
The crash was the second deadly accident with a construction barge under the Tappan Zee. The station reports one person died on the way to the hospital and the other survived.
O’Leary says the tugboat was pushing a separate barge down the Hudson when it crashed.
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The tugboat collision took place nearly directly below the center of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
