TOW HITS THEBES BRIDGE; FIVE-MILE STRETCH OF MISSISSIPPI CLOSED

THEBES, Ill. -- A five-mile stretch of the Mississippi River below Thebes was closed Tuesday after a southbound tow struck the Thebes railroad bridge, sinking three barges and damaging three others.

The accident forced a shutdown of river traffic while a search for two of the sunken barges continued into the night.

The towboat Peter Fanchi owned by Ohio River Co. of Cincinnati was pushing 20 barges filled with grain, corn and coal when it struck a pier of the bridge about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

High, swift water was blamed for the accident, which caused the barges to break up and float downstream.

"All the barges were accounted for by late afternoon," said Lt. Tom Tarrants of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office at Paducah, Ky. "We know that three of the barges sank."

One of the barges that sank at the bridge was found. A salvage team from St. Louis was hired by Ohio River Co. to find the other two sunken barges.

Also dispatched was the Coast Guard's motor vessel Pathfinder, which should reach the scene early today.

"We can't open the river to traffic until these barges are located," said Tarrants.

Immediately following the accident it was determined that no hazardous materials were involved, said Tarrants. It was also determined that the railroad bridge was safe.

"We sent out our bridge maintenance crew immediately," said Tom Boyle, who is manning a command station at Thebes.

Two trains crossed the bridge shortly after the accident.

The river Tuesday stood at slightly above 36 feet -- almost four feet above flood stage -- on the gauge at Cape Girardeau, a short distance upstream from Thebes.

The Thebes bridge is notoriously troublesome for river traffic, especially southbound towboats during high water. Towboat pilots say that when a tow passes under the bridge the current tends to push it toward the bridge pier.

"This isn't the first time the bridge has been hit," said Tarrants. Towboat accidents occur at or near the bridge almost annually.

Tarrants said a preliminary review indicated the towboat's pilot could not have prevented the accident. It is harder to control towboats moving downstream, he said.

"It just looks like he got caught up in strong currents and couldn't correct," Tarrants said.

One Coast Guard boat was on the scene within an hour of Tuesday's accident. The Army Corps of Engineers motor vessel Simpson arrived later to assist in the search for the sunken barges.

The Coast Guard command post at Thebes is behind the old Thebes Courthouse, which is close to the bridge.

The accident happened as port authorities in Alton, Ill., were preparing to reopen the river there after a Monday night accident. In that wreck, a towboat struck a wall at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, sinking two barges and partially submerging a third.

The accidents Monday and Tuesday remained under investigation, but Coast Guard officials said neither appeared related to a strike by a union representing barge pilots seeking higher wages and better working conditions.

Coast Guard officials in St. Louis and Paducah said the pilots involved in both accidents were licensed and highly experienced.

No one was hurt in either accident.

It was the fourth barge accident along the river between Hannibal, Mo., and Thebes in as many days.

-- Two barges sank and another was partially submerged Monday night when a towboat pushing 15 grain-filled barges struck a lock wall at the Melvin Price Lock and Dam at Alton. Five barges escaped through the dam, but they were quickly retrieved.

-- More than 2,300 people were rescued from the President Casino on the Admiral on the Mississippi River at St. Louis Saturday night after it was partially knocked loose from its moorings by a runaway barge or barges. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard are investigating. An NTSB spokesman said it may be six to nine months before a report on the accident is released.

-- On Friday night a towboat with 15 barges struck a railroad bridge near Hannibal. The barges broke apart, and one collided with a ticket office for an excursion boat. The excursion boat itself was in dry dock at another place.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.