A Staten Island ferry crashed Wednesday as it was docking, leaving at least a dozen people dead as passengers aboard the shattered vessel scrambled for their lives, police and city sources told The Associated Press. Some victims lost limbs as the accident ended an otherwise routine trip from lower Manhattan, with metal girders torn apart and wood splintered, rescue workers said. Other commuters were trapped in piles of debris aboard the 22-year-old ferry. Victims screamed and dove for cover and the right side of the ship was fractured as the ferry slammed into the huge wooden pilings that line the dock on the Staten Island side of the run. "There were numerous injuries like fractures and lacerations," said Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Lamberti. "There were a couple of people with amputations - legs and arms." The victims were taken to Staten Island University Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital following the accident around 3:20 p.m. Firefighters aboard the damaged 300-foot ferry sifted through the rubble looking for victims, finding more than 20, some of them critically injured, said another fire spokesman, David Billig. Coast Guard divers were in the water off Staten Island looking for any additional victims. The accident occurred on a windswept day, with gusts climbing into the mid-40 mph range. "Everyone just jumped for their lives," rider Bob Carroll told television station NY1. "It was like an absolute horror. ... The whole side of the boat looked like an opener on a can." The accident occurred as the vessel, the Andrew J. Barberi, finished its trip across New York Harbor, said Mike Loughran, a fire department spokesman. The National Transportation Safety Board was expected to investigate what went wrong. Justin Girard, a witness to the accident, told NY1 that he saw smoke and heard screams after the ferry crashed at the St. George Terminal. The front end of the ferry suffered extensive damage to the right side of its hull. A debris field of about 400 yards surrounded the damaged boat, said Coast Guard Chief Dave French. The ferry, which has three levels, has a capacity of 6,000, but it is unclear how many people were aboard at the time of the accident. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was attending the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game, left Yankee Stadium to head to the scene. The ship sustained a huge hole on its side, the official said, and debris may have fallen on some passengers. The ferry carries 70,000 commuters per day on the 25-minute free ride between Staten Island and lower Manhattan. Five boats make 104 daily trips between the two boroughs. The accident temporarily suspended service on the ferry, and closed down traffic on the lower level of the nearby Verrazano Bridge. On Sept. 19, 1997, a car plunged off the Andrew J. Barberi as it was docking in Staten Island, causing minor injuries to the driver and a deckhand who was knocked overboard by the car. **PHOTO CAPTION*** One of the Staten Island Ferry boats is shown as it passes the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor on Sept. 17, 2001. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)