More than 130 people were rescued after a cruise ship carrying passengers on the Mississippi River was struck by a tanker near **New Orleans, prompting a major emergency response that officials have described as a “miracle on the Mississippi.”
The cruise vessel, American Heritage, was left partially on its side after colliding with the cargo tanker Atlantic Asphalt on Friday afternoon.
According to authorities, 32 people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while all passengers and crew were successfully accounted for following the incident.
Officials praised emergency responders for their rapid actions in preventing a greater tragedy.
Helena Moreno, Mayor of New Orleans, commended rescue teams for their swift response.
“We have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi,” Moreno said.
She added that first responders immediately entered the scene to assist passengers as the vessel began taking on water.
“They literally jumped right in to help.”
The emergency response began shortly after 1:30pm local time, when authorities received reports of the collision and passengers began attempting to evacuate the damaged vessel.
Melanie Montroll, Chief of the Port of New Orleans, said calls flooded emergency services as people rushed to help those aboard the cruise ship.
The exact cause of the collision remains under investigation. However, Captain Melanie Burnham of the US Coast Guard indicated that investigators are examining a possible steering failure.
“There seems to be some type of a loss of steering,” Burnham said.
Rescuers worked for hours to safely evacuate passengers and secure the damaged vessel. Authorities continue to assess the extent of the damage and investigate what led to the crash.
While the incident caused significant concern among passengers and local residents, officials emphasized that the successful rescue of everyone on board prevented what could have been a far more serious disaster.
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