LULING, La. — A crew aboard a tugboat was swiftly rescued after their vessel went down in the Mississippi River due to a collision with a tanker ship in Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard has announced they are currently conducting an investigation into the incident while confirming that the river is still navigable.
St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne reported that his office was alerted about the collision near the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge in Luling on Sunday night.
“Initial findings indicate that all members of the tugboat crew have been rescued,” Champagne stated in a Facebook update late Sunday, around 10 p.m.
According to reports from the sheriff’s office, the tanker was moving upstream when it collided with the tugboat, resulting in the smaller vessel submerging, as detailed by local news source WWL-TV.
Emergency medical teams checked on the crew members and indicated they would take them to a hospital for further evaluation if required, stated the sheriff’s office.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s 8th District, known as Coast Guard Heartland, dispatched personnel to the scene. However, by the time they arrived, the five individuals who had entered the river during the incident had already been rescued.
The tugboat, identified as the Patrick J. Studdert, sank in a section of the river that is approximately 90 feet (27.4 meters) deep, according to Coast Guard reports.
The Coast Guard has also noted that they will conduct an assessment regarding any potential environmental repercussions stemming from the site of the accident in Luling, located about 23 miles (37 kilometers) west of New Orleans.
