UPDATE (11:11 a.m.)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A port official says the Mississippi River has reopened through New Orleans about seven hours after barges collided in the busy waterway.
Port of New Orleans spokesman Matt Gresham says the river reopened about 10:20 a.m. Friday.
The Coast Guard closed the river earlier in the morning after several barges broke free. The river is swollen from large amounts of Mississippi River Valley rains and is flowing very fast.
Gresham says barges being pushed upriver collided with barges at an oil facility in Gretna, Louisiana, a suburban town across the river from New Orleans. He says a small amount of fuel inside a hose connected to a barge that was being filled leaked into the river.
He says the oil facility was not damaged.
Earlier story (7:11 a.m.)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The Coast Guard has closed a portion of the swollen Mississippi River at New Orleans after several barges broke loose while being pushed up against the levee.
Coast Guard spokeswoman Lora Ratliff says one barge was damaged Friday morning in a collision with a secured barge.
Ratliff said the damaged barge was carrying oil, but she had no reports of pollution.
She says the river will remain closed while the Coast Guard investigates the collision.
It was unclear whether the river’s high water level had anything to do with the barge accident. Heavy Mississippi Valley rain has propelled the river higher levels.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
