All passengers and crew were accounted for after the American Heritage riverboat capsized following a tanker collision while docked on the Mississippi River near New Orleans' French Quarter. Mayor Helena Moreno said 32 passengers were hospitalized, with nobody killed or critically hurt. The reported injuries were all aboard American Heritage and were described as mostly bumps and bruises.
Moreno identified the tanker as Atlantic Asphalt and the American Cruise Lines vessel as American Heritage, placing the strike at about 12:30 p.m. Port press secretary Kimberly Curth said about 129 passengers were aboard, plus crew members. Curth said the vessel had docked for passenger disembarkation; she and NBC affiliate WDSU placed the arrival about two hours before the incident.
Officials said the tanker went out of control before the collision. Moreno said the cause remained unclear and investigators would examine a possible loss of steering, which had not been confirmed. Steve Scalise said the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate; NBC News also reported a US Coast Guard investigation. Officials said the nationwide airport ground stop delayed transportation officials traveling to New Orleans.
Moreno described a coordinated rescue after the riverboat began sinking and overturned during disembarkation, putting people in the river. Witness Jamie Holford told WDSU the interval from impact to overturning was 15 minutes. Footage showed tug crews retrieving people using lifejackets or flotation rings, while others climbed the cruise ship's balconies. Firefighters, Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews, and port and city police also helped recover people from the water. Images verified by NBC News showed people wearing lifejackets in the river.
Passenger Rhonda Akers said another impact preceded the capsizing and she crawled across a railing and other people to escape; she was waiting to see her husband, hospitalized with a head injury. An anonymous Ernest N Morial Convention Center employee said that after seeing the tilted boat and hearing cries for help, she and colleagues readied wheelchairs, water and other supplies for possible survivor needs. Passengers were taken into the port administration building beside the convention center.
US Coast Guard commander Melanie Burnham said that with everyone accounted for, attention would shift to restoring traffic after rescue operations closed the river between mile markers 93 and 96. The closure covered a three-mile stretch, and a Coast Guard official said authorities sought to reopen the waterway promptly. American Cruise Lines said guests and crew had been evacuated but supplied no count.