Rescues are underway in New Orleans after a tanker hits a river cruise boat on the Mississippi River

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A tanker struck the American Heritage river cruise paddleboat in New Orleans on Friday with 129 passengers aboard, partially submerging the boat. Rescues were underway on the Mississippi River, officials said.

Authorities did not immediately release whether there were injuries or deaths.

Video from the scene showed the much larger Atlantic Asphalt tanker hit the paddlewheel cruise boat while it appeared to be docked as metal and glass crashed and crunched.

More than a dozen people in lifejackets were being dragged from the 66-degree Fahrenheit (19-degree Celsius) river onto nearby ships. Others were standing near the railing as the other side of the American Heritage listed further into the water.

“Surreal — that’s what that was,” witness Jamie Holford told WDSU-TV. “Fifteen minutes from impact to where it rolled over.”

The cruise ship was bui...