LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- Several passengers aboard the Belle of Louisville suffered minor injuries Saturday when a strong wind pushed the steamboat into a parked barge on the Ohio River, authorities said.
The incident happened around 1:45 p.m. about a quarter-mile north of Harrods Creek.
Vince Luney, a 911 supervisor, told The Associated Press there were minor injuries, but he didn't know how many passengers were involved. Belle of Louisville CEO Linda Harris told The Courier-Journal of Louisville that about 300 people - many of them elderly – were aboard the steamboat and that about six to eight people suffered minor injuries.
David Karem, executive director of the Waterfront Development Corp. that manages the Belle for the city, said the steamboat was pushed into the barge by a strong wind while it was on a public cruise that started around noon.
The Belle suffered paddlewheel damage and lost power. "The paddlewheel is pretty wrecked," said Maj. Kevin Tyler of the Harrods Creek Fire Department.
Two tugs guided the Belle back toward downtown, where it arrived about 3:30, officials said. Marine inspectors from U.S. Coast Guard Ohio Valley sector responded to the incident.
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