Two persons continue to remain missing a day after a massive accident involving a amphibious tourist boat and a barge on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The two missing are a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl from Hungary. Search and rescue operations for the two missing persons were suspended for a while yesterday, but are expected to resume on Thursday.
The barge accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon. The sequence of events began when a small fire broke out in the engine room of the tourist boat, which had 37 passengers on board. The boat was stalled in the water waiting for help, when it was struck by a city-owned barge that was being pulled by a tugboat. The impact of the crash caused the tourist boat to sink almost immediately. The passengers were all thrown overboard, and most of them were saved. However, the two Hungarian tourists continue to remain missing. Ten people on the tourist boat had to be treated in the hospital for their injuries. The barge was a massive 800-foot long vessel, and was being pulled by an 85-foot tug.
Investigations are expected to begin immediately. The National Transportation Safety Board has already sent a four-member team to the accident site. Investigators are currently focusing on whether the tourist boat had made any attempt to alert other vessels in the area about the situation. According to the Coast Guard, it has information that the boat sent out a transmission hailing another boat, but no evidence of a call for help from the tourist boat.
The investigation is also focusing on how visible the tourist boat was, as it was partially submerged below the water. For now, investigators don’t believe that the speed of the barge was a major issue in this maritime accident.
The maritime lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. represent injured victims of maritime accidents in Texas, across the country and worldwide. SMSH Maritime Partner Matthew Shaffer has spoken out in the media about the Delaware River duck boat accident and tourist vessel safety.
