Gravel Barge Swallowed by Ohio River

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
6 October 2011

A barge loaded with gravel sank Wednesday evening in the Ohio River near the Emsworth Lock and Dam, closing the waterway to river traffic in that area, the Coast Guard said.

The captain of the tow Connie K radioed lock workers around 6 p.m. to say that a barge was taking water downriver from the dam and that he was going to cut it loose to keep the other barges afloat, said Jeffrey S. Hawk, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers.

The barge owner, Campbell Transportation based in Houston, Washington County, has contacted a salvage operator to raise the barge and reopen the navigation channel, Hawk said. A Coast Guard spokeswoman did not know when the channel would be reopened.