25 BARGES ROUNDED UP BEFORE REACHING BRIDGE

It was the water equivalent of a cattle roundup.

Towboats gathered 25 barges that broke loose from a southbound tow Friday on the Mississippi River above Cape Girardeau. Although they threatened the bridge, none of them drifted that far, said police.

Emergency personnel and others watched as the barges drifted lazily at the Broadway Street floodgate. Police were on hand in case the barges hit the bridge.

Police Cpl. Rick Schmidt said the barges never got farther south than the floodgate.

"I could see about 10 by the time I got there," Schmidt said. "Four were still loose and coming downstream. The rest had maybe hit on sandbars or something. They were just sitting there."

Schmidt said a towboat darted quickly around the barges, capturing them efficiently.

"It was very interesting to watch," he said. "The guys that operate those boats really know what they're doing."

Leo Steger, general manager of Missouri Barge Lines, said the barges probably hit river bottom, which caused them to break free.

"But we gathered them all up pretty quick, probably in about an hour," Steger said.

The barges were connected, Steger said, and broke loose near Cape Rock. Steger said the barges were each about 195-by-35 feet and likely were carrying grain to New Orleans.

Police Lt. Carl Kinnison said his department got the report about noon.

"There was no problem with the bridge or anything else," Kinnison said. "They were able to corral them and get them back where they needed to be before anything like that happened."