NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A tanker struck the American Heritage river cruise paddleboat in New Orleans on Friday with 129 passengers aboard, partially submerging the boat, officials said.
Authorities did not immediately release whether there were injuries or deaths. Video from the scene showed boats and rescuers scrambling to get people in life jackets out of the 66-degree Fahrenheit (19-degree Celsius) Mississippi River
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Video from the scene showed the much larger Atlantic Asphalt tanker hit the paddlewheel cruise boat while it appeared to be docked as metal and glass crashed and crunched.
The boat quickly started to list to its side as passengers gathered near railings.
“Surreal — that’s what that was,” witness Jamie Holford told WDSU-TV. “Fifteen minutes from impact to where it rolled over.”
Luggage and other debris could be seen floating in the river. Survivors were being taken to a port of New Orleans building next door to the dock.
The cruise ship was built in 2015 and operated by American Cruise Lines. It is five stories and can hold up to 150 passengers and was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Someone who answered the phone with the cruise line took a message but didn't immediately share any information Friday afternoon.
The Atlantic Asphalt tanker specializes in carrying large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, a semi-solid substance that is often used for road construction and roofing, according to the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic.
Ships carrying asphalt and bitumen are often heated well above 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius) to prevent the asphalt from solidifying on the ship, according to the maritime periodical Marine Insights. It is not immediately clear whether the ship was carrying any materials when the crash occurred.
The 520-foot (160-meter) long vessel had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic, and was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands. It is owned by a company called Nave Shipping SA, which is registered in Monrovia, Liberia, according to the International Maritime Organization. There was only one ship registered to that organization, which has no international sanctions against it’s operations.
