A commuter ferry crashed into a pier in lower Manhattan early Wednesday, injuring about 50 people, the New York City Fire Department said.
Firefighters and rescue workers were on the scene of the accident near the South Street Seaport, which occurred at 8:43 a.m. (1343 GMT), a spokeswoman for the fire department said.
Some of the injured were taken to the hospital, while others were treated at the scene, she said. Officials believed most injuries were not serious, according to local media reports.
"People were thrown into the air and onto the ground," passenger Elizabeth Banta told CNN. "There were definitely many people on the ground who were not moving."
Television images showed damage to the side of one end of the ferry, called Seastreak Wall Street, which departed from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
People injured in the hard landing at the pier on the east side of lower Manhattan were lying on stretchers with blankets over them, awaiting emergency workers who were transferring hurt commuters into ambulances
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