Destrehan, LA Tanker And Ferry Boat Collide, Oct 1976

4 DEAD, 50 HURT IN BOAT MISHAP.

Destrehan, La. (UPI) -- A fully loaded ferry boat carrying commuters to work collided with a 664-foot tanker and sand in the Mississippi River today, trapping passengers in the wreckage and sending others into the water.
Authorities said at least four persons were killed. Two dozen survivors were reported at area hospitals and another 30 to 50 were missing.
"At the present time we have four known dead, but we feel this thing is going to climb real fast," said a state police spokesman.
A Coast Guard spokesman said ferry GEORGE PRINCE had a capacity of 20 cars and 50 walk-on passengers and was believed fully loaded at the time of the accident.
The ferry sank near mid-stream within 15 minutes of the collision with the Norwegian tanker Frosta, a 22,000-ton vessel. Coast Guard divers were brought 30 miles upriver from New Orleans to search the wreckage for survivors.
"They are tapping on the hull and waiting for any return tapping," said a Coast Guard spokesman. "The river current is very fast, and that's hampering the diving efforts."
Temperatures were in the low 40s when the collision occurred at dawn and survivors clinging to debris were forced downstream by the current and 30 mile-an-hour winds.
"I was on (the ferry) when it flipped over and I went into the water," said JEAN WOLVERTON, 36. "I tried to swim to shore, but I couldn't make it. A large man held out his hand and pulled me to the ferry railing."
Dozens of small boats were in the area within minutes to rescue survivors, but authorities feared many of the missing may have been trapped inside their cars. The river was closed to all shipping in the area of the collision.
The GEORGE PRINCE carries commuters between the small towns of Destrehan and Luling, two river communities populated by oil refinery workers. President FORD had stopped at the Destrehan Ferry landing three weeks ago, while on a riverboat campaign swing through Louisiana.
One witness said the tanker blasted the ship's whistle before the collision.
"It looked to me like the ship blowed for the ferry," said JERRY MAYE, who witnessed the accident from another nearby ferry. "He blowed four or five times."

Delta Democrat Times Greenville Mississippi 1976-10-22

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22 BODIES RECOVERED, 56 STILL LOST IN FERRY MISHAP.

Destrehan, La. (UPI) -- A floating crane today raised the wreckage of a Mississippi River commuter ferryboat that collided with a tanker, capsized and sand [sic] with heavy loss of life.
Authorities said 22 bodies have been recovered and at least 56 persons were missing. A disaster coordinator predicted the death toll would exceed 100.
Most victims were oil and chemical workers enroute to their jobs.
Only 18 persons were known to have survived the predawn collision Wednesday 30 miles upstream from New Orleans.
"It's my feeling that the death toll is going to go over 100," said St. Charles Parish sheriff JOHN O. ST. AMANT, director of disaster operations. "It's a very, very tragic thing."
If the death toll is confirmed, the collision will be the worst disaster on the river since 1,000 persons died in an explosion aboard the steamboat Sultana near Memphis, Tenn., in 1865.
The GEORGE PRINCE was rammed broadside by the 664-foot Norwegian tanker Frosta. The 120-foot ferry capsized and sand within 15 minutes, hurling passengers and cars into 90 feet of water.
Thirty-nine vehicles plunged into the river. Some were located a half-mile from the crash site.
Diver FRED HURT said all victims were retrieved from the ferry Wednesday and the rest were either trapped in the cars or floating in the river where the current is about four knots.
"We went through the whole thing," HURT said of diving operations into the ferry. "There was no air space anywhere."
HURT said both doors to the passenger cabin were found open and some windows smashed. He said he could not determine whether the windows were broken by passengers or by the force of the collision with the Baton Rouge bound tanker.
At nightfall Wednesday divers suspended their search to allow crews from a New Orleans shipyard to begin lifting the ferryboat with a twin 600-ton floating crane. Rescue workers huddled around bonfires to keep warm in 40-degree temperatures during the lifting operations.
One man suffered minor injuries before dawn when a cable from the crane popped and hit him on the head.
After half of the ferry was lifted from the river, divers were sent back down to seal off the hatches and doorways which remained underwater.
Most of the bodies recovered Wednesday were pulled from the wreckage of the ferryboat, but authorities said other victims could be entombed in their cars at the bottom of the swift-moving river.
"There was no way to tell how any people were on the ferry," said CHARLES ROEMER, state commissioner of administration. "There could be as many as 100 persons involved."
Most of the passengers were on their way to work in the oil and chemical plants along the river.
Some of the victims were believed trapped in automobiles that slid from the deck of the GEORGE PRINCE and tumbled downstream in the fast-moving river.
Eight cars were located, but none have been recovered. Authorities were bringing in sonar to locate the others.
Lack of a formal passenger count caused confusion over the death toll. Authorities could only guess how many commuters were aboard the 39-year-old ferryboat that links Destrehan and Luling, La.
The gray and white GEORGE PRINCE had a legal capacity of 35 cars and 140 passengers.
"It was loaded down," said P. J. BREAUD, a chemical plant worker, who was next in line to board the ferry when he was turned back by deckhands. "In the little room where everybody stands to get out of the weather, all you could see was white construction hats."
Officials also were puzzled about the cause of the accident. Coast Guard crews conducted an informal investigation aboard the tanker Wednesday, but released the ship and its crew pending a formal hearing scheduled to begin in New Orleans Friday or Saturday.
Skies were clear at the time of the accident, but temperatures in the low 40s and a 30-mile-per-hour wind stopped passengers from gathering along the rail of the ferryboat to chat as they normally did during the seven-minute ride.
Because the passengers were taking shelter from the cold, many of them probably never heard the tanker sound six warning blasts from its whistle.
"I get chills when I think about it," said Capt. BETTIS R. SCOTT, pilot of a nearby ferry. "People were sleeping in their cars."
"That shap was coming right up and hit right against the wheelhouse and zap .... it's flipped over. Couldn't nobody have had time to grap a life preserver."
The Frosta -- based in Bergen, Norway, and owned by the firm Monwinckles J. Red -- was bound for Baton Rouge under the control of a licensed Mississippi River pilot when it slammed into the ferryboat.

Destrehan, La. (UPI) -- If deckhands aboard the ferryboat GEORGE PRINCE had been a bit more efficient, P. J. BREAUD and his son GWEN might be dead today.
BREAUD and his son were next in line to board the gray and white ferry before dawn Wednesday when deckhands told them the boat was too crowded.
"I was definitely cursing them out," said GWEN. "If they had parked the cars right, I could have got on. Now I'm glad them people didn't park it right."
The BREAUDS watched in the predawn darkness as tyhe boat they tried to board was rammed by a 664-foot Norwegian tanker. The GEORGE PRINCE rolled under the weight of the 22,000 ton vessel and sank in 90 feet of water.
"It looked to me like the bow of the ship hit the ferry in the direct center," said BREAUD. "It just pushed the ferry and you could see the back end of it sinking. Then the lights went out."
P. J. BREAUD said he could see the accident unfolding, but he thought for a moment the ferry may have avoided the collision.

Delta Democrat Times Greenville Mississippi 1976-10-23

Listing of Casualties:
Crew of the GEORGE PRINCE -- all deceased.
EGIDIO AULETTA, pilot, Destrehan.
NELSON EUGENE, SR., deckhand, St. Rose.
DOUGLAS FORD, deckhand, Boutte.
JERRY RANDLE, engineer, New Sarpy.
RONALD WOLFE, deckhand, St. Rose.
Passengers on the GEORGE PRINCE -- deceased.
MARK ABADIE, LaPlace.
HUREST ANDERSON, LaPlace.
GLEN BARRECA, Norco.
JOHN BASSO, Independence.
THOMAS BEASLEY, Destrehan.
ANTHONY BREAUX, LaPlace.
JERRY BROWN, JR., LaPlace.
MARTIN CAMPBELL, Destrehan.
JIM CARTER, SR., Ponchatoula.
HARRY CLEMENT, Tickfaw.
RICHARD COBB, Hammond.
OSCAR DERMODY, Kenner.
DWIGHT DOBSON, Hammond.
MELVIN DRIGHT, JR., Kenner.
HERMAN EUGENE, JR., Garyville.
LENWOOD FENROY, LaPlace.
AL FLEMING, Garyville.
CHARLES FRANK, JR., Metairie.
BENNY FULLER, Metairie.
JIMMY GAST, Destrehan.
ERVIN GEHEGAN, Hammond.
OTIS GEHEGAN, Hammond.
JOHN GOLDSTON, JR., Baton Rouge.
OSCAR GREEN, Ridgeland.
RONNIE HALL, Destrehan.
JOSEPH HARRIS, Tallulah.
PAUL HARRIS, LaPlace.
WILLIE HARRIS, Tallulah.
JOSEPH HASTINGS, JR., Kenner.
HENRY HILLS, JR., Hammond.
LARRY HILLS, Hammond.
HOLLIS HODGES, Cocoa, Florida.
EDGAR HOLMES, Ponchatoula.
JAMES HUGHES, Independence.
TIMOTHY HYMEL, Reserve.
ROBERT JONES, JR., Metairie.
LINDSAY LeBLANC, Norco.
MARY LIGHTSEY, Destrehan.
LONIE MARTS, Kenner.
CHARLES McKEITHEN, Kenner.
JOSEPH MICHELLI, Hammond.
HUBERT MINOR, JR., Kenner.
ROOSEVELT MIXON, Kenner.
ANTHONY MONISTERE, Hammond.
BARRY MOORE, Kenner.
WILLIAM MOORE, New Sarpy.
ROBERT NEWTON, SR., Van Cleave, Mississippi.
JOSEPH NICOLOSI, SR., Hammond.
TERRY NORTON, Kenner.
BENJAMIN PAPE, JR., Ponchatoula.
EDDIE PLAISANCE, JR., Metairie.
LARRY PONTIFF, Kenner.
KEVIN PRITCHETT, Destrehan.
JEFFREY QUARLES, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
DARREL RODRIGUEZ, Ponchatoula.
ELMORE SCHEXNAYDER, LaPlace.
ADOLPH SMITH, SR., Destrehan.
IVORY SMITH, Garyville.
ARTHUR SNYDER, LaPlace.
RICHARD SONGY, SR., Norco.
MICHAEL STEWART, Metairie.
ANITA STADLER, St. Rose.
RAFAEL TOLENTINO, Destrehan.
ANESTASIA WANKO, New Orleans.
MICHAEL WEBRE, Metairie.
JESSIE WHEAT, JR., Hammond.
JOHNNY WILLIAMS, JR., St. Rose.
LEON WILLIAMS, Kenner.
STEVEN WILLIAMSON, Kenner.
EASTMON WILLIE, Ponchatoula.

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!