Flames can be seen from blaze that erupted after a tugboat pushing an oil barge struck a gas pipeline in a bayou south of New Orleans Tuesday night, March 12, 2013. / WWL-TV/CBS.
LAFITTE, La. -- A pipeline fire was ignited when the pipe was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge burned into the early morning hours Wednesday in a bayou south of New Orleans.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Alex Washington says there's still liquid petroleum gas in the 19-mile pipeline and authorities are waiting for it to burn out. He says they also have to wait until daylight to get a measurement of how much oil has leaked from the barge.
Coast Guard Ensign Tanner Stiehl says the collision occurred Tuesday around 6 p.m. CDT on Bayou Perot, in a marshy area near where Lafourche and Jefferson parishes meet.
The Coast Guard said all crew members were able to exit the tug boat but the captain reportedly suffered severe burns.