Barge Crashes Into Bridge In Us Texas, Causing Oil Spill, Partial Collapse, Shutdown

HOUSTON, May 16 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- A barge on Wednesday slammed into a bridge in Galveston, an island city on the Gulf Coast of the US state of Texas, causing an oil spill into the bay and the bridge's partial collapse, authorities said, reported Xinhua.

The Pelican Island Bridge, which leads to Pelican Island, north of Galveston, was shut down following the accident, officials said. Galveston is about 50 miles away from downtown Houston, the largest city in Texas.

No immediate injuries were reported, according to the city of Galveston.

"The collision has resulted in an oil spill in the bay," the city said in a statement, adding that the US Coast Guard is responding and will determine the extent of the spill, as well as initiate the containment and cleanup processes.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry told FOX 7 Austin that two crew members were rescued from the water.

The barge has a capacity of 30,000 gallons, but it is unclear how much of it went into the water, said the FOX 7 report, citing the county judge.

Texas A&M University at Galveston, which is located on Pelican Island, said that its power was briefly shut off due to the accident but has since been restored.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the barge to slam into the bridge.

The accident came weeks after a cargo ship slammed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, claiming six lives.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA