Thursday, September 3, 2015

Two towboat collide near Columbus, KY causing oil spill in Mississippi River







Posted: September 3, 2015

 PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) -

The Coast Guard is investigating a towboat collision on the Mississippi River near Columbus, KY.

According to the Coast Guard, watchstanders received a call about the collision between two towboats at mile marker 937 at 8:22 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard reports the collision caused damage to a barge containing clarified slurry oil.

It is leaking an unknown amount into the water.

The Coast Guard reports the barge reportedly can carry up to 1.05 million gallons of the the oil.

Along with the barge owner and an oil response organization, the Coast Guard is working to determine how much of the slurry oil has been discharged.

The incident is under investigation.