Ferry captain recalls historic water rescues that helped save thousands on 9/11

 Captain Rick Thornton, a ferry captain for NY Waterway, told "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday that “the entire fleet was mobilized” to carry out evacuations after the second plane struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. 

He said 30 boats were sent to the area “because that was the most immediate place that needed evacuation. 

“The people from not just the towers, but all the surrounding buildings were streaming out of the buildings and then collecting along the waterfront,” Thornton recalled. “Some of them were just running in any direction... some of them – there was just sheer terror in their eyes -- they were actually climbing over the rail and some of them were jumping into the river and starting to swim out.” 

“Our ferries were extremely busy and we were just picking up people from every imaginable part, not just ferry terminals, but even along the sea wall and pulling people out of the water as well," he added.