Louisiana: 32 hospitalized after tanker collides with river cruise ship

A tanker lost control and crashed into a docked river cruise ship on the Mississippi River near New Orleans, Louisiana. The accident happened on Friday at around 12:30pm local time when the Atlantic Asphalt tanker collided with the American Heritage vessel. At least 32 people have been hospitalized due to the incident, although none of them suffered life-threatening injuries, according to media reports.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno confirmed that all passengers aboard the American Heritage have been accounted for.

The vessel was carrying between 180 and 190 people when the accident occurred.

Emergency responders evacuated about 87 people before the ship capsized, Moreno said.

We have zero people unaccounted for, she added.

The collision caused the American Heritage to take on water and eventually capsize. The vessel was docked for about two hours when the accident occurred, according to Moreno.

Tugboat operators, dock workers, and police personnel rushed to the scene for rescue operations.

Devon Flanagan, who witnessed the incident from his workplace at the Port of New Orleans, described it as chaos.

The Atlantic Asphalt is a Marshall Islands-registered tanker measuring 525 feet long and 77 feet wide. It was traveling upstream on the Mississippi River when it hit the docked cruise ship.

The American Heritage is a paddle-wheel riverboat built in 2015 with a passenger capacity of up to 150 guests.

The United States Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched investigations into the collision.

Preliminary reports suggest that the tanker may have lost steering before crashing into the cruise ship.

The Mississippi River was temporarily closed to vessel traffic near the accident site as emergency teams responded to the incident.