‘Truly is a miracle’: All passengers, crew accounted for one day after New Orleans cruise ship slams into tanker on Mississippi River

An investigation into the cause of the tanker crash could take months.

A harrowing scene on the Mississippi River unfolded Friday afternoon as a tanker reportedly lost control of its steering and slammed into a docked cruise ship containing 197 passengers and crew. Despite some people going overboard, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said all passengers aboard the ship and its crew were accounted for.

“Truly is a miracle on the Mississippi,” Moreno told a gathered crowd.

In total, 32 people were taken to the hospital, though none of them had serious injuries.

The cruise line conducted a roll call to ensure all passengers were accounted for, as the boat flipped shortly after the crash, while emergency workers were on hand attempting to save those in need. Dozens of people, including two police officers, were pulled out of the Mississippi River in a scene onlookers described as “chaos.”

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The National Transportation Safety Board announced an investigation into the crash, but it was initially delayed due to another seismic issue: the FAA ground stop that led to more than 13,000 delayed flights on Friday. The FAA administrator said in a statement on Saturday that air travel should fully recover by Sunday.

“What we saw was instability. We couldn’t explain the instability,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said.

On Saturday, the NTSB confirmed that a preliminary report regarding the crash would be released within 30 days, with the final report to be issued within 18 to 24 months.

The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans has filed a lawsuit, stating that the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused $1 million in damages. Federal officials towed the tanker away from the scene on Friday, but the cruise ship remains turned on its side in the Mississippi River and could take weeks to remove.