US tanker crashes into cruise ship carrying 197 passengers, overturned, miraculously no fatalities

An Atlantic Asphalt tanker ship collided with an American Cruise Lines passenger ship in New Orleans on the Mississippi River on Friday (Nov. 13, US time).

32 sent to the hospital

All 197 people on board were accounted for, and 32 were sent to local hospitals, reported CNN. Investigations into how the incident happened are underway.

The collision took place on the Mississippi River as passengers were preparing to disembark from the American Heritage, which had been docked.

Some passengers ended up in the water, and the boat started taking on water, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference on Friday evening (US time).

The tanker appeared to have "lost control", said US Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham.

She added that authorities are not aware of the "exact reason why" it could have lost steering capabilities. The person steering the tanker was a river pilot, Burnham said.

Emergency response to rescue passengers

Emergency responders rushed to help with a mass evacuation.

Those taken to local hospitals all had non-critical injuries, according to Moreno.

The Red Cross told CNN that its volunteers provided water, blankets and emotional support on scene to those affected.

US President Donald Trump also praised first responders in a social media post, saying "All of Law Enforcement and First Responders were fantastic!"

Witness said it looked like "something off the Titanic"

A witness to the crash told CBS that he saw the cruise ship hit the dock following the collision, according to BBC's report.

"It sounded like a war movie. Just imagine tons of steel crunching. That's what it sounded like," he said.

"It looked like something off the Titanic."

He also saw passengers and crew members "hollering" and "crying" as they attempted to get off the ship while it was sinking.