GROUNDED BARGES FLOATING DOWN LOWER RIVER AGAIN

Thirty barges that ran aground when the tow boat pushing them lost power were back on their way down river on Friday.

The barges ran aground at approximately Mile 54 on the Mississippi River Wednesday afternoon when the boat M/V Frank Haendiges, owned by American Commercial Barge Lines of Jeffersonville, Ind., lost power as it was pushing the barges southward, according to a spokesman for Cape Girardeau Fleeting, which help pull some of the barges off the bank.

The thirty linked barges broke into two sections, one with 20 barges and one with 10, he said. Both sections ran aground out of the channel so caused only minor traffic problems on the river, the spokesman said.

The barges were carrying grain, none of which spilled into the river, he said. One barge was damaged enough that the wheat it was carrying had to be unloaded, the spokesman said.

A boat owned by Cape Girardeau Sand and Gravel assisted the Haendiges, which was running again about three hours after the accident, the spokesman said. Two boats from Cape Girardeau Fleeting and three from Mays Towing helped pull the barges back into the river.

The last barge was off the sand bar about 9 p.m. Thursday, the spokesman said.