Authorities in New York are investigating what caused last night's New York harbour ferry accident in which 10 people were killed and 42 injured.
A police official said the vessel's pilot fled the scene immediately after the crash, returned to his Staten Island home and attempted suicide by slitting his wrists and shooting himself with a pellet gun.
He was taken to the same hospital as many of the ferry victims and underwent surgery.
The police source said the man was taken to Staten Island University Hospital after someone at his home called the emergency services about an hour after the accident.
The crash happened on a windy afternoon, with gusts over 40 mph and very choppy water in New York Harbour. The cause of the crash was not known, although Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested the heavy wind as a possibility. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
At a dockside news conference, Mr Bloomberg said: "It's a terrible tragedy, people who were on the way home, all of a sudden, taken from us." He said the ferry's crew will be interviewed and tested for drugs and alcohol.
At least one body was recovered from the water. Commuters were trapped in piles of debris aboard the 22-year-old ferry. Mr Bloomberg said: "People who were sitting there as the ferry docked were hit by the pilings that came through the side of the boat."
Hospital officials said at least three victims had limbs severed in the accident, while others were suffering from massive trauma, back and spinal injuries, chest pains and hypothermia. The ferry service was halted after the crash, but officials said it would resume for this morning's commute.
PA