Cruise ship crashes into lock wall, up to 30 injured

MASSENA, N.Y., June 19 (UPI) -- A cruise ship traveling to Canada through the St. Lawrence Seaway crashed into a concrete wall in the Eisenhower Lock, injuring up to 30 people.

The Coast Guard said the 286-foot luxury liner was carrying 274 passengers and crew when it hit the lock, a narrow manmade canal, about 9 p.m. Thursday. Up to 30 people were injured, two seriously.

"When the ship hit the wall, it started taking on water," Coast Guard spokeswoman Lauren Laughlin said, adding crew immediately closed doors to the lock and removed water so the ship wouldn't sink. Rescue workers used ladders, ropes and pulleys to remove the injured to land because the ship was not near a pier.

The Montreal-based ship was en route to Toronto. The cause of the collision is under investigation.