Barge separated from tug wreckage in La. bayou
Mar 16, 2013, 1:02 AM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The Coast Guard says crude oil from a barge involved in a fiery pipeline accident in a coastal Louisiana bayou has been safely transferred to a separate barge.
A Coast Guard news release says the transfer was completed Friday afternoon and there were no signs of pollution. The barge had been carrying 92,000 gallons of oil.
The transfer came after a salvage company separated the barge from the wreckage of a tugboat that struck a Chevron underwater liquefied natural gas pipeline. The accident happened Tuesday evening in Bayou Perot (per ROH’) about 30 miles south of New Orleans.
One man was critically burned in the resulting fire.
As the fire dwindles, Chevron has begun flaring the pipeline in a controlled burn designed to safely rid the line of residual gas.
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