Salvage Starts Monday of Tug at Fatal Crash Site

Salvage operations are expected to start Monday on the tugboat that crashed into a construction barge last Saturday, killing three crew members.

The 90-foot tugboat called Specialist was one of three escorting a barge down the Hudson River.

According to officials, they were not in the channel designated by the Coast Guard for all marine vesssels passing through the extensive construction area where the New NY Bridge is being built across the Tappan Zee.

Specialist crashed into a construction barge and sunk within minutes. There were no injuries to the 13 workers who were on the stationary barge.

Rescue operations were mounted from both sides of the river. According to the Rockland Fires Facebook page, emergency responders included marine units and divers from departments including Nyack, Piermont, Thiells, Tarrytown and the NYPD.

Two members of Specialist's crew were pulled from the water, but one -- Amon, 63, of Bayville, NJ -- died on the way to Westchester Medical Center.

Two men were listed as missing. The body of one, Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, NY, was recovered from the wreck the next day.

Police searched for Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island for days with marine units, helicopters and divers.

His body was finally located inside the sunken tug by commercial divers beginning to plan the salvage operation. Police divers tried to get to it but could not -- the damage to the tug is considerable and visibility where it is located under the construction barge is poor. Hernandez's body will not be recovered until the vessel is pulled out of the water.

The tug leaked up to 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel, creating a sheen that stretched to Yonkers, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said. The state Department of Environmental Conservation was working to contain the spill.

Westchester County police detectives are continuing to investigate the collision. The salvage plan for the tug must be approved by the Coast Guard. A crane is being brought from Virginia for the work.

PHOTO: New NY Bridge construction site, March 19, 2016/New York Thruway Authority webcam

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