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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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A collision on the Mississippi River near Luling, Louisiana, left a tugboat submerged and its crew scrambling for safety after being hit by a tanker on Sunday night.
Why It Matters
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the U.S., second only to the Missouri River. The river passes through 10 states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Its 1.2 million square mile drainage basin includes 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, with its many tributaries draining water into the main river stem. Some 41 percent of the continental U.S. drains into the Mississippi.
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The river is a huge part of the country's agriculture system with 92 percent of the nation's agricultural exports being produced in the Mississippi basin, which equates to 78 percent of the world's soybeans and grain exports.
However, in previous years the river has faced declines in water levels due to hot summer months and low rainfall totals causing the Mississippi to fall to its lowest levels for a decade, exposing a number of shipwrecks that had previously been hidden beneath the water.
What To Know
The crash occurred near the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge when a tanker ship, traveling upriver, struck the tugboat, causing it to sink, local CBS affiliate WWL-TV reported.
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St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne confirmed the collision and rescue efforts after his office received a report of the collision between the ship and tugboat.
Emergency responders evaluated the crew for injuries, with plans to transport them to a hospital if necessary, according to the sheriff's office.
The U.S. Coast Guard's 8th District, based in New Orleans and known as Coast Guard Heartland, dispatched personnel to the scene, though the tugboat crew had already been pulled from the water by the time they arrived, WWL reported.
Similar Incidents
In April 2023, a train derailed in Wisconsin and sent freight cars into parts of the Mississippi River.
"Two of the three locomotives and an unknown number of cars carrying freight of all kinds were involved. Two containers went into the Mississippi River; neither contained hazardous materials. Some of the containers derailed on shore contained paint and lithium-ion batteries," BNSF Railway previously told Newsweek.
What People Are Saying
Sheriff Greg Champagne said in a Facebook post at around 10 p.m. local time on Sunday: "Preliminary reports are that all crew members from the tug have been rescued."
What Happens Next
The Coast Guard told WWL-TV there will be an assessment of possible environmental impacts of the accident site in Luling.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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