By Taylor Romine, Martin Goillandeau, Isa Mudannayake, Eduardo Cuevas

(CNN) — Passengers of a river cruise boat in New Orleans had to be pulled from the Mississippi river on Friday after a tanker collided with the paddlewheeler as it sat in dock, causing it to capsize.

Those aboard desperately gripped the railings of the American Heritage as it started taking on water and tipping over, sparking a major emergency response.

In what Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry hailed as a “miracle on the Mississippi,” all 197 passengers made it to safety.

“There had to be some kind of divine, godly intervention for this outcome,” Mayor Helena Moreno said Saturday.

Moreno said 32 people were taken to hospitals with noncritical injuries, while others were treated at the scene for “bumps and bruises.” On Saturday, city officials said eight remained in hospitals – two in serious condition, the others stable.

The tanker, the Atlantic Asphalt, appeared to have “lost control,” according to US Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham, who added that the “exact reason why” it may have lost steering capabilities remained unknown.

“I do not have any indication that this is terrorism-related,” Burnham added.

Investigators are now trying to piece together exactly what happened.

Screams for help

In dramatic video from the scene, a distinct metallic screech can be heard as the vessels collide. At least a dozen people wearing life vests can later be seen being pulled from the water, while other passengers clamber over the railings of the boat, lying on its side in the Mississippi.

About 80 people were evacuated from the boat before it capsized, said New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll.

Numerous vessels immediately rushed to the scene to rescue passengers from the river.

“It was all hands on deck,” the mayor said. “First responders, other boats and vessels that were in proximity all raced to do what they could to help,” Moreno told reporters.

Truck driver Blas Armas, who recorded on his phone as panicked passengers tried to swim from the stricken boat, said many elderly people in the river screamed, “Help, help.”

“The most terrifying thing was an old lady (who had) only her head out of the water,” Armas told CNN late Friday. “She was wearing a vest, but it wasn’t around her neck,” he said, adding that she was trying to swim with one hand as she clung to what looked like a piece of floating furniture. The woman was eventually pulled to safety.

He also recalled seeing an elderly man bleeding from his forehead. “People were scared,” he said.

Brian Clesi, captain of the New Orleans riverboat Creole Queen, was on his way to work Friday when he received a phone call: A ship had lost steering about a quarter mile away. Clesi and Ellis “Jimmy” Kimball later launched the riverboat’s bow-mounted rescue boat and made their way to the crash site, where rescuers were already plucking people from the river.

Clesi, 53, told CNN he and his partner pulled nine people out of the water and took them to other vessels for triage or to first responders on the riverbank. They brought one man with head trauma to a fireboat.

“About three people we responded to, including one harbor police officer, were wearing life jackets. But the rest that we pulled out were not. So, it was imperative to get them to safety as soon as possible,” Clesi said.

“I’m just glad we were there to get them out,” he said. “The ones that didn’t have a life jacket on were holding on for dear life.”

Many of the people in the water were elderly and appeared to be in shock, Clesi said.

“We train for this. We do man overboard drills, rescue drills, fire drills,” Clesi said. “Everybody in this harbor works together as a team. If somebody is in need, everybody’s coming. So, it wasn’t just us. We played a very small part in the grand scheme of things.”

Moreno, the mayor, said passengers began disembarking after the cruise ship was first hit, but it then began to sink and eventually “toppled over and flipped.”

New Orleans firefighters immediately responded to the collision and used ladders over the dock to try to rescue people, Moreno said. Other ships on the Mississippi River also responded to help get people out of the water, she added.

American Cruise Lines, the owner of the riverboat American Heritage, confirmed its boat was involved in the incident and said it worked with local authorities to evacuate everyone from the vessel. CNN is working to determine who owns the tanker.

OSM Thome, a ship management company responsible for implementing the International Safety Management code on the boat, said in a statement that the Atlantic Asphalt tanker was built in 2017 and registered in the Marshall Islands.

“We deeply regret the impact of this incident and extend our sincere concern and heartfelt sympathies to those injured. Our thoughts remain with the passengers of the AMERICAN HERITAGE following their harrowing experience as we work diligently to assess and investigate the incident,” the company said, adding that it was “fully complying with the local authorities.”

The American Heritage was built in 2015 and has capacity for 150 guests, according to the operator. The cruise line, which offers river cruises across the US, hosts several cruises that port in New Orleans.

The person driving the tanker was a river pilot, said Burnham, the Coast Guard captain.

Some passengers abandoned personal items on the sinking ship, Moreno said, and are now staying at local hotels. The city is working with partners, including the American Red Cross, to ensure all passengers have access to accommodation, transportation and necessary prescription medications.

Two harbor police officers that had been hospitalized were released Friday evening, the Port of New Orleans said in an update.

Landry, the governor, praised all of the agencies involved, saying their constant partnership prepared them for this type of situation.

“It is a literal miracle on the Mississippi,” he said. “When you think about the population that was on that cruise ship, and the ability for us to get them off, get them out of the water.”

“The Mississippi River is not some quiet pond, right? I mean, there were challenges out there,” he added.

President Donald Trump, who offered the state support, also praised first responders, saying in a social media post, “All of Law Enforcement and First Responders were fantastic!”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that “by the grace of God, we have not lost one soul” during the collision and subsequent rescue.

None of those hospitalized are in critical condition as of the last report, he said during a briefing on the Federal Aviation Administration ground stop on Friday.

Following the rescue mission, the US Coast Guard has reopened the main channel after it was shut down immediately following the collision, Burnham said.

It could take weeks to remove the American Heritage from the river, the mayor said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to New Orleans by ground due to “residual delays from the nationwide ground stop” on Friday.

Moreno said some NTSB investigators were in New Orleans and others were expected to arrive later Saturday.

Landry said there “is an active investigation” into the collision.

“We want to make sure that this investigation is thorough, we understand exactly what happened, so that we can triage those problems and ensure that the Mississippi River remains a very safe place,” he said.

The-CNN-Wire
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