Seven people had to be rescued Tuesday afternoon after the small rowboat they were in capsized in the Hudson River, sending them into the chilly river water.
The rowboat had just departed from the Village Community Boathouse on Pier 40 near W. Houston Street, according to the Daily News. The Boathouse runs weekly rowboat lessons there, and two instructors and five students were aboard.
As the boat approached Pier 25 near Battery Park City, waves pushed the boat into the wooden pier. The boat started filling with water, and two people jumped out, according to News report.
A witness on dry land dialed 911 at about 5:20 p.m., reporting a boat in distress.
The boat flipped then, according to the report. Five people in the water managed to cling to the pier, but the swiftly moving current carried two people downstream.
All were wearing life jackets.
The NYPD’s Harbor Unit picked up the five from the pier, and an FDNY rescue boat saved the two people who had been swept downstream.
Two people were hospitalized after the incident, including one woman who had a gash on her head.
Rob Buchanan, of the Village Community Boathouse, told DNAinfo that the boat never should have ventured out of the calm waters of the cove and into the fast-moving Hudson River currents.
“We put out a boat of inexperienced rowers,” Buchanan said. “For some reason, they rowed out into the river. On the way down, the tide swept them sideways into the pier.”
“It’s good that everyone had their life vests on,” he said.
