(New Orleans, agencies) A tanker collided with a sightseeing boat on the Mississippi River in New Orleans in the US, throwing some of those aboard into the river. Emergency crews swiftly launched a rescue operation, and all of the roughly 180 people aboard the sightseeing boat were confirmed safe, with no deaths reported.
The accident occurred around noon local time on Friday (13 November). The sightseeing boat had been docked for about two hours, and passengers were disembarking.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said the tanker had lost control and struck the docked sightseeing boat American Heritage. As passengers scrambled to escape, the sightseeing boat began to sink and list before capsizing, throwing those still aboard into the river.
Video from the scene showed the much larger tanker striking the sightseeing boat amid the sound of metal and glass shattering.
Witness Devon Flanagan said: “It was just chaos...... You had all types of ships, like other barges and other companies down there trying to help out, which also was a little convoluted because you had people still in the water.”
Everyone who fell into the river was rescued in an emergency operation involving tugboat crews, firefighters, police and people aboard nearby vessels.
Moreno described it as “a miracle on the Mississippi”. She said 32 people were taken to hospital, but none had serious injuries.
Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to have suffered some kind of steering system failure, but the cause of the accident remained under investigation.
The Coast Guard has closed the stretch of river near the accident site to all vessel traffic and launched an investigation with the National Transportation Safety Board.
