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Loose barge leaks 10K gallons of fuel into Mississippi River

By Ray Downs

March 25 (UPI) -- A loose barge near New Orleans struck a concrete wharf Sunday morning and leaked 10,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel into the Mississippi River, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

At around 6 a.m. on Sunday, the Coast Guard said it received reports of a barge breaking away from its vessel after becoming dislodged by the wake of a passing boat, WDSU-TV reported.The barge crashed into a wharf, which made a hole in the vessel, leading to the fuel leak.

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OMI Environmental Solutions was called in to clean the spill.

The Coast Guard said the leak stopped, but up to 21,150 gallons of biodiesel fuel could have spilled beforehand.

No injuries were reported from the crash.

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