Two South Street Seaport Museum workers were installing safety gauze on the walkway leading to the Peking tall ship Wednesday following the near tragedy over the weekend when a toddler fell off the plank into the East River and was rescued by her father and a bystander.
The cause of the accident has not been made public but there were small cracks in the safety railing in which a child possibly could have fallen if she were looking at the water. Asked if the accident prompted the work on the plank, one of the workers installing the gauze around the railings said, “Yes, as a safety precaution.
On Saturday, Bridget Sheridan, 2, fell into the water from the Peking’s plank. Her father, David Anderson, and a French tourist jumped in and saved her. The Frenchman, dubbed “Le Hero” by the Daily News, had previously been unidentified, but on Wednesday the News reported that his name is Julien Duret.
The museum declined to answer questions about the accident, but a spokesperson, Adam Pockriss, released this statement:
“The museum has no further details about the incident this past weekend, beyond what has already been reported. We are happy that everyone involved, especially the little girl, is doing well. We join with the many people who have hailed the heroic actions of the French gentleman who risked his own life to help a stranger.”
— Josh Rogers with Kristin Shiller
