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130 Rescued After Clipper Runs Aground Near Statue of Liberty

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A clipper carrying 130 people ran aground near the Statue of Liberty Saturday afternoon.

The hulled replica schooner named Clipper City ran aground near Liberty Island at 1:11 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The group was rescued by the NYPD, FDNY and Coast Guard, who brought them back to the Battery Park Marina, where the boat originated, 1010 WINS' Gary Baumgarten reported.

Tom Berton, owner of ship operator Manhattan by Sail, told WCBS 880's Jim Smith the ship encountered shallow water.

Clipper Runs Aground
Passengers rescued from a distressed clipper near the Statue of Liberty smile along with a NYPD Harbor Unit member who helped in the rescue (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)
Clipper Runs Aground
Passengers rescued from a distressed clipper near the Statue of Liberty smile along with a NYPD Harbor Unit member who helped in the rescue (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)
Clipper Runs Aground
Passengers rescued from a distressed clipper near the Statue of Liberty smile along with a NYPD Harbor Unit member who helped in the rescue (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)

"The boat apparently ran into a mud flat and sort of hit an edge of a mud flat and came to a halt," Berton said.

The boat tour was part of a beer cruise that boasted views of New York City's skyline and the Statue of Liberty, Baumgarten reported. Passengers said most people just kept drinking while they waited to be rescued.

130 Rescued After Clipper Runs Aground Near Statue of Liberty

"I think we just ran ashore and they had to come and get us and take us back," said one passenger. "I don't know if the engine failed or if we just hit ground first, but we got stuck and these gentlemen came and rescued us."

"Engine trouble and I don't know if they dropped the anchor or if we ran aground but then we just, we were out there for an extra half-hour, hour waiting to be rescued. It was fine," said another passenger.

130 Rescued After Clipper Runs Aground Near Statue of Liberty

The NYPD said the clipper never took on any water. There were no injuries.

At 158 feet long with a mast 120 feet high, Clipper City is billed by the company as the largest sailing vessel in New York.

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