A group of 26 barges, 23 of them laden with dry cargo and the other three empty, broke loose on the Ohio River in Pittsburgh at 11:25 p.m. Friday as rain flooded the waterway.
No one was reported injured.
With the barges floating out of control down the river, the marina at Peggy’s Harbor was damaged while 11 of the barges got pinned against the riverbank by Brunot Island.
Fourteen craft continued downriver, city officials said in a release. Of those, nine stopped at the Emsworth Dam, with the other five going over the Emsworth and Dashields locks.
Four of those barges have been recovered, while the other is unaccounted for and may have sunk, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Pittsburgh Cmdr. Justin Jolley told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The McKees Rocks Bridge in the same-named Pennsylvania town was closed after the barges broke loose. The McKees Rocks Police Department announced on Facebook at 8:19 a.m. Saturday the bridge was reopened.
Heavy rain Thursday led the National Weather Service to declare that the city had reached the point of a minor flood in a post on X at 8:36 p.m. Friday. The peak of the flooding was projected to come in the early morning hours Saturday.
Water levels on the Ohio River had not been that high in Pittsburgh since 2004’s Hurricane Ivan, Cmdr. Jolley said.
Campbell Transportation Co. owns and operates the barges that broke loose.
“Campbell Transportation Company Inc. is actively responding to a recent development involving a multi-barge breakaway in Pittsburgh. Our immediate priority is ensuring public safety and minimizing any potential environmental impact. We are actively collaborating with local authorities, including the Coast Guard, Pennsylvania State Police, PennDOT and various law enforcement and EMS agencies,” the company told Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA-TV.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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