A Mississippi River cruise turned into a terrifying emergency Friday when a massive tanker slammed into a docked passenger ship in New Orleans, causing the vessel to overturn and sending people scrambling for their lives.
The dramatic collision happened around 12:30 p.m. on November 13, when the 520-foot tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage, a five-story paddlewheel cruise ship carrying approximately 129 passengers and additional crew members.
Within moments, the cruise ship began tilting dangerously into the Mississippi River, triggering a frantic rescue operation as passengers wearing life jackets struggled in the water and others clung to railings while the vessel rolled onto its side.
Shocking video captured the enormous tanker crashing into the smaller passenger vessel, followed by scenes of people desperately trying to escape as the ship became partially submerged.
“It was just chaos,” nearby port worker Devon Flanagan told The Associated Press, describing the frantic scene as nearby boats and barges rushed to help people in the river.
Another witness, Jamie Holford, compared the disaster to something out of the Titanic, telling CBS News that he watched passengers scramble over railings as the cruise ship overturned.
“It sounded like a war movie,” Holford said, describing the deafening sound of metal crashing together.
The American Heritage had arrived at the Port of New Orleans roughly two hours before the collision and was docked to allow passengers to disembark. The vessel was completing an eight-day journey through Louisiana and Mississippi when the disaster unfolded.
Rescue teams from the U.S. Coast Guard, New Orleans firefighters, harbor police and other emergency agencies rushed to the scene. More than a dozen people wearing life jackets were pulled from the river, where the water temperature was approximately 66 degrees.
According to local television station WDSU, more than a dozen people were hospitalized following the collision, citing information from the mayor’s office. However, authorities had not yet released a confirmed total of injuries or announced any fatalities.
American Cruise Lines, which operates the American Heritage, said passengers and crew had been evacuated and that the company was working closely with federal and local authorities.
The collision also brought shipping traffic along a busy section of the Mississippi River to a halt. The Coast Guard closed a three-mile stretch of the waterway while emergency crews conducted rescue operations and assessed the damage.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said he was traveling to New Orleans and remained in contact with local officials as the emergency unfolded.
The tanker involved in the crash is registered in the Marshall Islands and is designed to transport asphalt and other heavy petroleum products. Investigators had not determined whether it was carrying cargo when it struck the passenger ship.
The American Heritage, built in 2015, is designed to accommodate up to 150 passengers and features multiple passenger decks, lounges and dining facilities.
Authorities have not determined what caused the tanker to strike the docked vessel, and no official findings concerning responsibility for the collision have been announced.
As investigators work to piece together how the accident happened, the images of a luxury river cruise ship lying on its side in the Mississippi have raised urgent questions about how such a catastrophic collision could occur while passengers were preparing to leave the vessel.