A tanker in New Orleans, which reportedly lost its steering, collided with a river cruise vessel carrying 180 individuals on Friday, as stated by the mayor.
Fortunately, everyone on board emerged unharmed after the incident prompted a significant rescue effort for passengers and crew who fell into the Mississippi River as the cruise boat began taking on water and leaning dangerously.
Footage from the site depicted the considerably larger Atlantic Asphalt tanker striking the cruise boat while it was docked, resulting in a cacophony of metal and glass breaking.
Rescue teams, including tugboat operators, local workers, police, and various other responders, hurried to assist. New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno referred to the event as “a miracle on the Mississippi.”
The mayor reported that 32 individuals were transported to the hospital, but none sustained life-threatening injuries.
The American Heritage, a paddlewheel vessel, began to tilt shortly after the collision and ultimately capsized while emergency personnel were still evacuating passengers.
Numerous individuals from the cruise ship, along with at least two police officers, were rescued from the river and taken aboard nearby vessels.
‘It was just chaos’
Devon Flanagan, who was working close to the Port of New Orleans, witnessed workers rushing down the dock. Upon exiting his truck, he noticed the American Heritage on its side with passengers in the water.
“It was just chaos,” he remarked. “You had all kinds of vessels, including other barges and companies, down there trying to assist, which made things a bit convoluted since there were still people in the water.”
According to U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham, it seems the tanker encountered “some type of loss of steering,” although the precise reason for the collision remains unclear.
The cruise ship, which was constructed in 2015 and is operated by American Cruise Lines, stands five stories tall and has a capacity of up to 150 passengers.
The American Heritage was concluding an eight-day journey that included several stops at locations along the Mississippi River in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The cruise line announced that it is collaborating with the U.S. Coast Guard and will provide further updates as they become available.
The tanker involved in the incident specializes in transporting substantial amounts of asphalt and bitumen, a semi-solid material commonly used in road construction and roofing, as noted by the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic.
