Barge upends tourist boat in Philadelphia
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 15 years, 5 months AGO
<p>A duck boat crew member is pulled from the Delaware River after a tourist boat carrying 37 people overturned when a barge hit it,leaving two people missing Wednesday after a frantic rescue effort in Philadelphia.</p>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An amphibious sightseeing boat that stalled in the Delaware River was knocked over by an oncoming barge Wednesday, spilling 37 people overboard and leaving two passengers unaccounted for after a frantic rescue effort.
The six-wheeled "duck boat" had driven into the water just after 2:30 p.m. and suffered a mechanical problem and a small fire, officials said. It was struck about 10 minutes later by a barge used to transport sludge, then sank.
Searchers were looking for a 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man believed to have been aboard the vessel, which can travel seamlessly on land and water, police Lt. Frank Vanore said. Several people went to hospitals, but there were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross said police believe a diver has found the boat in water about 50 feet deep, and officials hope to pull it up at some point.
"It's remarkable that we're only looking for two people," Ross said of the accident.
There were 35 passengers and two crew members aboard the boat, said Coast Guard Senior Chief Bud Holden. Coast Guard boats assisted by police and fire crews worked to rescue people from the water, he said. A spokeswoman for the duck boat company says 39 people were aboard, and the reason for the discrepancy wasn't clear.
Bystanders along the waterfront screamed as the barge hit the boat, said a security guard who was patrolling the waterfront.
"I whirled around as the barge began to run over the duck boat," said Larry Waxmunski, a guard for the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. "After the barge hit it - it almost looked like slow motion - the duck boat began to turn over."
"Fortunately, you began to see the life vests popping up almost immediately," Waxmunski said. He then saw police boats beginning to pluck the tourists out of the water.