A sunken towboat is releasing oil into the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa. The Stephen L. Colby struck a submerged object and began sinking late Monday afternoon adjacent to the levee in LeClaire, just north of the Quad-Cities. Nine people on the boat made it to safety but the Coast Guard says it’s releasing oil into the water.
The towboat, operated by Marquette Transportation Co. of Paducah, had about 1,100 gallons of oil and almost 90,000 gallons of fuel on board. The river was closed in the vicinity of the sinking as the Coast Guard, EPA and first responders evaluated the situation.
(Reporting by Phil Roberts, Davenport)