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At least 32 people were taken to local hospitals Friday after an Atlantic Asphalt tanker collided with an American Cruise Lines vessel carrying 129 passengers and crew members in New Orleans, but all passengers have been accounted for, officials said.
The impact sent the cruise ship onto its side in the Mississippi River around 12:30 p.m. local time, prompting a major rescue operation. Rep. Troy Carter told WDSU that no fatalities have been reported. The National Transportation Safety Board’s forensic team was delayed in reaching the scene because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide ground stop, Carter added.
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser told WWL Louisiana around 3:50 p.m. EST that initial estimates indicated 85 people had been rescued and treated inside the Port of New Orleans Administration Building, where the cruise ship had been docked. Although officials had not confirmed it, he said authorities believed everyone aboard, potentially as many as 130 people, had been accounted for.
“The latest text I got, it doesn’t appear there’s been any loss of life,” Nungesser told the station at the time, adding that he was working to secure 85 hotel rooms for passengers affected by the collision.
City officials later announced that anyone seeking information about someone potentially missing after the collision could call 3-1-1 in New Orleans or 504-539-3266 from outside the city.
Mayor Helena Moreno and Gov. Jeff Landry arrived at the scene ahead of an expected 4:30 p.m. EST news conference and spoke with rescued passengers. President Donald Trump had also been briefed on the collision, according to WDSU.
The cruise ship was docked for about two hours and had 129 passengers and crew onboard when the collision happened, the Port of New Orleans told WVUE.
Video from the scene showed the much larger tanker striking the paddlewheel cruise ship while it appeared to be docked. As the vessel began listing and sinking further into the Mississippi River, people wearing life jackets could be seen in the water or gathered along the ship’s railing.
Multiple people had been rescued by around 2:10 p.m. local time, according to the New Orleans mayor’s communications team. Passengers were being brought into the Port of New Orleans Administration Building, where they could receive assistance, port officials said.
The collision occurred along a busy stretch of the riverfront near the city’s Convention Center, between the Central Business District and Warehouse District. The area is popular with tourists and is surrounded by hotels, restaurants and shopping destinations. Nearby attractions include a shopping mall, a riverfront park and the Audubon Aquarium.
The incident could mark the most serious accident along that stretch of the Mississippi River since 1996, when a cargo ship collided with the Riverwalk Marketplace shopping mall, injuring 66 people.
This is a developing story.
