(ST. LOUIS, AP) — Authorities have reopened the Mississippi River at St. Louis to barge traffic as salvage crews sort out how to remove a towboat that sank with possibly 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard.
The Coast Guard says the 70-foot, 140-ton Jim Marko went under Tuesday near the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. Four crew members were rescued.
It’s not immediately clear why the vessel owned by Mike’s Marine and operated by Osage Marine Inc. sank.
The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic for about five hours for a several-mile stretch just north of the sunken towboat before reopening the waterway about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The agency says that given the rapid currents and high levels of the river, salvage efforts will be delayed until the conditions are safer.
It’s not immediately clear why the vessel owned by Mike’s Marine and operated by Osage Marine Inc. sank.
The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic for about five hours for a several-mile stretch just north of the sunken towboat before reopening the waterway about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The agency says that given the rapid currents and high levels of the river, salvage efforts will be delayed until the conditions are safer.
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