Barge hits Miss. River bridge: Oil cleanup ongoing

Associated Press

Published: Monday, Jan. 28 2013 8:48 a.m. MST

The towboat Nature Way Endeavor banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 as a vehicles travel on the Interstate 20 bridge. A barge carrying 80,000 gallons of oil hit the railroad bridge next to the I-20 bridge, spilling light crude into the Mississippi River and closing the waterway for eight miles in each direction, the Coast Guard said. A second barge was damaged.

Associated Press

Enlarge photo»

Summary

The Coast Guard says a normally bustling stretch of the Mississippi River remains closed to barge and ship traffic as cleanup crews with booms work to remove an oily sheen near Vicksburg after a barge with 80,000 gallons of oil hit a railroad bridge last weekend.

JACKSON, Miss. — The Coast Guard says a normally bustling stretch of the Mississippi River remains closed to barge and ship traffic as cleanup crews with booms work to remove an oily sheen near Vicksburg after a barge with 80,000 gallons of oil hit a railroad bridge last weekend.

Coast Guard Lt. Ryan Gomez told The Associated Press on Monday that at least 21 other vessels such as towboats and barges are stalled by the river closing as crews with booms and a skimming device are removing hundreds of gallons of oily water from the river.

He says investigators are trying to determine why a tug pushing two tank barges collided with the bridge early Sunday. Another barge also was damaged.

He says cleanup crews are working to remove the leaking barge's remaining oil.

Comments