Briton reunited with ferry victim

Kerry Griffiths met Michael Esposito, the grandfather of the man she saved

A man who lost both legs in the New York ferry disaster wept with gratitude when the British nurse who saved his life came to visit him in hospital.

Paul Esposito, 24, was lying in agony after the Staten Island ferry slammed into a pier on Wednesday, killing 10 people and injuring 34 others.

Kerry Griffiths, 24, comforted him as she stemmed the blood flow with a belt.

And on Friday she responded to the New Yorker's appeal to find the "angel" who had answered his cries for help.

Click here to see how the accident happened

"As soon as we saw each other... we clung on to each other," she said of their reunion at Staten Island University Hospital.

Mr Esposito's tearful grandfather Michael, 72, hugged Ms Griffiths and said: "She did more than any one person could do.

"We found our angel."

Doctors said if Mr Esposito had not received medical help from Ms Griffiths, who works at hospitals in Bristol and Swansea, he would have become the 11th fatality of the crash.

There were dead people in every direction around me Paul Esposito

She used her own Gap sweater, which he kept, to cover Mr Esposito's legs.

And she protected his face from debris flung by the strong winds.

Ms Griffiths, who lives in Swansea and is originally from Gloucestershire, said she had told Mr Esposito: "You have to concentrate on staying alive."

Mr Esposito, a waiter who lives with his parents on Staten Island, said: "She kept telling me, 'Stay with me, don't leave, stay with me'.

"I asked how my legs looked and she responded, 'It's OK, you're going to start a new life.'

"There were dead people in every direction around me," he told the New York Times.

After arriving in New York on Monday, Ms Griffiths had visited the Statue of Liberty and was on the ferry for the views of Manhattan island.

Lost consciousness

She works part-time at Bristol Children's Hospital and also at Sancta Maria Hospital in Uplands, Swansea.

Maggie Crawford, the matron at Sancta Maria Hospital told BBC News Online on Saturday: "I can just imagine Kerry wouldn't put herself first in a situation like that but would react to any emergency and give all the assistance she could.

"Obviously it must have been a very traumatic time for everybody concerned but Kerry wouldn't think of herself but would think immediately of what could she do to help - that is part of her nature."

The ferry carrying 1,500 people was at full speed when concrete pillars tore through the vessel.

Witnesses are expected to be questioned about the condition of the pilot, who reportedly lost consciousness prior to the accident.

An alcohol test conducted on the pilot was negative.

But officials now want to test his blood for prescription medication.

The National Transportation Safety Board which is leading the investigation, said the report would take up to a year.

1. Ferry approaches the St George Ferry Terminal. Witnesses say the boat was travelling faster than normal, and was on an unusual course
2. Ferry hits maintenance pier. Long pilings on the pier tear through the boat's lower deck
3. Ferry is reversed into berth at the terminal; emergency crews arrive to assist the injured

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