TWO ESCAPE INJURY IN BOATING ACCIDENT

Two men traveling up the Mississippi River ran out of gas in their 30-foot cabin cruiser Friday night, and likely lost their boat but were not injured, a Cape Girardeau firefighter said.

The men had been coming to Cape Girardeau to refuel their boat after leaving the Kentucky Lake area earlier in the day, Cape Girardeau Fire Department shift commander Tom Hinkebein said. The boat ran out of gas by the Mississippi River bridge, just short of a marine fueling station.

The boat, with two men and two dogs, drifted down to the Missouri Dry Dock area and became pinned against a barge, Hinkebein said. The men were able to throw some belongings onto the barge, then climb up with their dogs and wait for help.

A Coast Guard vessel, which happened to be in the area to change buoys, rescued the men and their dogs.

However, conditions on the river likely pushed the men's boat under the barge, Hinkebein said.