A busy commercial waterway near Houston remains partly closed following a collision involving four vessels that caused a toxic gasoline product to leak into the water.
Authorities said at a news conference Saturday that the hull of a 755-foot (230-meter) tanker punctured storage tanks on a tugboat that was pushing two barges along the Houston Ship Channel.
One barge capsized Friday. The other was damaged.
The Coast Guard hasn’t revealed the cause of the collision. It’s trying to determine how much reformate leaked into the channel. The gas product is colorless, flammable and toxic to touch, inhale or ingest.
The National Weather Service warned that people living nearby might be able to smell gasoline fumes.
The Houston Chronicle reported the closure had halted 29 inbound ships and 17 outbound.