by Kerry Burke and Jess Wisloski
Seven children and teenagers were hospitalized yesterday after a yacht engine spewed "out of sight" levels of carbon monoxide into the boat while it was anchored off Brooklyn, officials said.
All the victims were expected to recover - including two who had slipped into unconsciousness - but rescuers said it was a close call.
"It was a carbon monoxide leak from the engine," said Chief Jim Dalton, director of marine operations for the Fire Department. "It was out of sight. There were 800 parts per million. We evacuate [buildings] when there's only 90 parts per million."
"It was a good thing we were so close," said Firefighter Glen Johnson, a 10-year veteran assigned to Marine 3. "In a few more minutes, it could have been fatal. We were just in the right place at the right time."
The Staten Island family - identified by a relative as Stephen Matrangolo, his wife, Vilma Aviles, their two children, and several cousins and friends - were aboard the Lady V, a 40-foot Carver Sport miniyacht, when the odorless, colorless gas seeped in from the exhaust.
"The parents were on top. The kids were down below," said Firefighter Brian McCarrick. "One of the boys came up and said some of the kids were unconscious."
An emergency call came in at 3:30 p.m. from the anguished Aviles, who said four children had blacked out on a boat spewing smoke near the Brooklyn Bridge, which turned out to be an incorrect location.
Soon after, nearby rescuers received another call saying the distressed vessel was on the Brooklyn side of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge across Jamaica Bay.
When rescuers arrived, a boy and girl had regained consciousness, but two young boys were still knocked out, said McCarrick, who administered oxygen to the pair.
"We knew they were going to be all right when they started crying," he said. "We put them all on our boat and rushed them to the Coast Guard station, where the ambulances were."
Two youngsters, one of them the son of Matrongolo and Aviles, were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and two were taken to Peninsula Hospital in the Rockaways. All were in stable condition. The other three were taken to Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn and were expected to be discharged last night, officials said. The victims ranged in age from 6 to 18, a relative said.
A relative of the family at Coney Island Hospital said, "We're not sure what happened. We just want to make sure everybody's all right."
The boat is registered to Aviles, but the owners could not be reached for comment.
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