Latest News

Coast Guard: Helicopter crash that kills two shuts down Mississippi River

The U.S. Coast Guard said that a helicopter crash into a barge near Alton, Illinois on Thursday killed two people on board and closed the river for traffic.

Jonathan Lindberg, a spokesperson for the company, said that no one was aboard the barge when it caught fire following the accident. He said that firefighters extinguished it.

Lindberg stated that the river, which is a major waterway used for shipping crops and other goods was closed from mile marker 200 to mile marker 211, while officials investigated the incident. They also checked the water to make sure there were no debris. He said there was no estimated time for the river to reopen.

The closure of Alton could cause barges to be delayed in their delivery of grain from the U.S. Gulf. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Bill Berkrot and Tom Polansek)

(source: Reuters)