WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Commercial divers went into the Hudson River on Monday to assess the condition of a tugboat that sank after crashing into a Tappan Zee Bridge construction barge.
The salvage operation is being conducted by a company hired by the tugboat owner.
"This is the first step in creating a salvage plan, which then needs to go to the U.S. Coast Guard for their approval," Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said at an afternoon news briefing.
Astorino said there is no timetable for when the sunken ship, the Specialist, will be able to be pulled out of the water, but the request is being expedited and the Coast Guard should sign off by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the fatal crash and its aftermath is continuing.
Autopsies of the two victims recovered after the crash found they drowned, Astorino said. He said said it remains unclear whether a third victim who is missing and presumed dead remains inside the tugboat, which sank to the bottom of the Hudson River, or elsewhere.
Officials said they are interviewing dozens of eyewitnesses as they piece together the details of the crash. Astorino said the witnesses had given conflicting testimony and those interviews are still being corroborated by investigators.
Among the things they are examining is whether a strong current pushed the tug off its intended course.
Police divers on Sunday night stopped searching the 84-foot vessel, which is under 40 feet of water.
Specialist was one of three tugboats pulling a crane from Albany to New Jersey in the early morning darkness. The Specialist — situated on the right side of the crane as it headed south — hit the stationary barge north of the bridge, officials said.
The barge struck was a smaller barge, holding construction equipment for the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, N.J., was pulled from the 40-degree water Saturday and later pronounced dead. On Sunday morning divers found the body of Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, Long Island, inside the tug.
The missing man was identified as Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island.
The Specialist reportedly made radio transmissions that said, "We are too close. We have to move left," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. "But they couldn't move in time and sometimes it's just that. Just an accident."
The vessel is estimated to have had about 5,000 gallons of fuel oil on board, some of which spilled into the river but is being contained, according to the governor's office.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement that its oil spill response teams "continue to work with a contractor for the tug company and the U.S. Coast Guard to assess and mitigate the diesel fuel spill from the sunken tug."
"As a precautionary measure, approximately 10,000 feet of hard oil boom and absorbent materials have been placed in key locations, including 7,000 feet of boom in place across Piermont Marsh/Tallman Park on the Rockland County shoreline and 2,600 feet of hard boom around the tug spill site to capture any continued leakage," the agency said. "By day’s end, DEC expects to have up to 14,000 feet of boom deployed."
"At this point, a limited amount of recoverable oil has been observed, however extensive areas of oil sheens have been observed from the vicinity of the TZB south to the Yonkers area," the DEC said. "The USCG and Westchester County Aviation will continue to fly over the river to assess the situation as weather conditions allow."
The Coast Guard also had four teams in the field Monday checking the river and shorelines, the DEC added.
Crews working on the water at the new Tappan Zee Bridge construction site were instructed to stay clear of the Coast Guard's efforts as work resumed Monday morning. No workers from the Tappan Zee Constructors, the consortium of contractors tasked with designing and building the bridge, were hurt in the crash.
A spokesman for the bridge project declined further comment.
The so-called "Tap" connects Rockland County, N.J., with Westchester County, N.Y., north of New York City. The new cable-stayed span is expected to be completed in 2018, replacing the 16,000-foot-long cantilever bridge, which opened in 1955.
Contributing: Matt Coyne, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News. Follow Colleen Wilson on Twitter: @Colleenallreds
