UPDATE: Police and Salvage Operations Completed at Deadly Tug Crash Site, Astornio Says

UPDATE, March 24, 2016, 5:55 p.m.: Police and salvage operations at the site of the deadly March 12 tugboat crash in the Hudson River were completed Thursday afternoon, County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced.

The tugboat Specialist was raised from the bottom of the river and stabilized at 9 a.m.

At that point members of the Westchester County Police Marine Unit and Emergency Services Unit boarded the vessel and recovered the body of Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island. He was one of three crew members killed in the accident and the last to be recovered.

Astorino said he was hopeful the the conclusions reached about this accident will prevent something like this from happening again.

Astorino said met with the Hernandez family to apprise them of the recovery effort and express his condolences for their loss.

The county executive also asked that the people of Westchester keep the two other victims of the tugboat tragedy—Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, New Jersey and Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, Long Island—and their families in their thoughts and prayers.

The statement from Westchester County continues:

Today's salvage operation began at 7 a.m. when the crane barge the Chesapeake 1000 began to slowly bring the Specialist to the surface from where it came to rest 46 feet below. Once the tug was raised, specialized equipment was used to de-water the vessel, capturing remaining fuel oil and other contaminants before they could enter the Hudson.

After the recovery of the missing crewman, county police detectives conducted a forensic examination of the vessel, cataloguing the damage and recovering evidence, including navigation systems, GPS devices, logbooks and other items. These items will be used in the ongoing investigation being conducted by the United States Coast Guard and the Westchester County Police.

When the police examination of the tugboat was completed this afternoon, custody of the tugboat was turned over to the salvage company. The tugboat was to be placed aboard a barge and removed from the area.

The following statement from the Hernandez family was provided to the county executive and is being disseminated at the family’s request:

“We would like to thank everyone in the Westchester County Police Department for their support and accommodations today. It has been a very difficult two weeks for the family. We appreciate everyone who has expressed their concern and helped to bring our family member back home. Even though we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, we are comforted to know that we can now put his body to rest.”

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UPDATE, March 24, 2016, 3:22 p.m.: The body of the third crew member of the tugboat that crashed into a bridge construction barge almost two weeks ago was recovered.

Officials estimate that the accident’s preliminary report will be available by next week, according to lohud.com.

For the complete lohud article, go here.

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Original article:

The tugboat which hit a barge on the Hudson River March 12 was raised out of the water Thursday morning.

The Specialist has been suspended above the water and authorities have boarded it, according to lohud.com.

The body of the third and final crew member, Harry Hernandez, will be recovered.

The crane barge Chesapeake 1000 arrived in Tarrytown Wednesday and preparations started for the tug to be lifted from the bottom of the river.

The bodies of two other crew members—Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, Nassau County, and Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, NJ, were recovered.

For the more details, including a video report, go to lohud.com here.

Photo credit:www.donjon.com