All passengers and crew survive as tanker hits river cruise boat on Mississippi
Video from the scene showed the much larger Atlantic Asphalt tanker hit the paddlewheel cruise boat while it appeared to be docked.
A tanker has struck the American Heritage river cruise paddleboat in New Orleans with 180 people on board, partially submerging the boat.
All on board survived after the crash prompted a massive rescue operation for passengers and crew who plunged into the Mississippi River as the ship took on water and began to topple over.
“We have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi,” New Orleans mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference as rescuers and others cheered.
The mayor said 32 people were taken to the hospital, but none of them had critical injuries.
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.
More than a dozen people in lifejackets were being dragged from the 19C river on to nearby ships.
Others were standing near the railing as the other side of the American Heritage listed further into the water.
“Surreal – that’s what that was,” witness Jamie Holford told WDSU-TV.
“Fifteen minutes from impact to where it rolled over.”
Devon Flanagan was at his job nearby at the Port of New Orleans when workers began rushing down the dock.
He got out of his truck and noticed the American Heritage on its side and passengers in the water.
“It was just chaos,” he said.
“You had all types of ships, like other barges and other companies down there trying to help out, which also was a little convoluted because you had people still in the water.”
The cruise ship was built in 2015 and operated by American Cruise Lines.
It is five storeys and can hold up to 150 passengers.
The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The cruise line said it was working with the Coast Guard and would share more information when it can.
The tanker involved in the crash specialises 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 120C 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 520ft (160-metre) long vessel had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic, and was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands.