Ship Accidents & Collisions July 8, 2010

Tour Boat & Barge Collide, 8 injured 2 still missing

Emergency rescue boats searched the Delaware River this morning for passengers of a “Ride the Ducks” tour boat and its tourists after a barge hit the tourist boat in the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Two people remain missing.

An amphibious sightseeing boat known as the Ride the Ducks, was struck by a barge, flipped over and sank. The 37 people aboard the six-wheeled duck boat were tossed overboard when the tugboat-pushed barge hit it after it had been adrift for a few minutes with its engine stalled. Most were rescued from the river by other vessels in the area.

The duck boat, which can travel seamlessly on land and water, had driven into the river Wednesday afternoon and suffered a mechanical problem and a small fire. It was struck about 10 minutes later by a barge used to transport sludge and sank to the bottom of the river.

The Coast Guard said it would search through the night for a 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man believed to have been aboard the duck boat.