UPDATE [6:38 PM ET]: President Donald Trump has reacted to the Port of New Orleans collision, with a statement shared in a post on Truth Social on Friday evening

original story

On Friday, the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans was the scene of a collision between an Atlantic Asphalt tanker and a docked river cruise ship owned by American Cruise Lines. 

First, trouble in the sky; now, trouble in the water. 

A tanker collided with a docked cruise ship carrying about 129 passengers on the Mississippi River Friday, leading to a massive rescue operation.

The Atlantic Asphalt tanker hit American Cruise Lines’ American Heritage around 12:30 p.m. outside the Port of New Orleans Administration Building, Port NOLA told The Post.

Harrowing footage from the scene showed the cruise ship nearly horizontal in the river. Some people were seen in the river wearing life jackets and using life rings, while others appeared to cling to the vessel’s railings.

WATCH:

Recommended
Democrats Are Panicking Over the 2030 Census, and the Explanation Gives the Game Away Rusty Weiss FAA Orders Flight Ground Stop Nationwide Over ATC 'Communication Issue': Sec. Duffy (UPDATE) Ward Clark

Rescue operations were quickly mounted by the Port of New Orleans Harbor Police, the New Orleans (NO) Fire Department, the NO Police Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard, with emergency medical personnel on scene. In a press conference with New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, the NO Fire Department, and law enforcement officials, all passengers and crew have been accounted for. Over 30 people were injured and transported to the hospital for medical attention. 

"At this moment, the information that we have, we have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi, and that is a credit to all of the first responders, local, state, federal, who literally jumped right in to help," she said.

According to Fox News:

University Medical Center New Orleans and other LCMC Health hospitals received an estimated two dozen patients following the incident, LCMC Health said in a statement. Medical teams were evaluating patients and providing care while coordinating with emergency responders. 

According to Mayor Moreno, while the vessel was still capsized in the water, search and rescue was able to get the first 87 people from the vessel. Multiple rescue vessels were deployed to retrieve the remaining passengers from the water. 

Gov. Landry said he spoke directly with President Donald Trump, and spoke twice to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Landry said the president told him he would have, "whatever they needed." DHS Secretary Mullin also confirmed that whatever resources would be needed, DHS would make them available.

The @USCG is supporting the state of Louisiana and our local partners in responding to a vessel collision near mile marker 96 on the Mississippi River. We are throwing every asset we have to help rescue missing passengers. 

@DHSgov is coordinating closely with the state of Louisiana. Our prayers are with all those impacted by this terrible tragedy.

Republican Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-01) was also at the press conference and confirmed there would be a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash. Scalise praised the "incredible work of all of our first responders. We are blessed to have people who are ready to mobilize immediately to save lives."

During the rescue operation, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser spoke with ABC News about the situation, and confirmed that the ship is a river cruise touring ship, not a cruise liner and might contain mostly elderly passengers. 

Nungesser said:

You know, I fear the worst because there were so many elderly people on that boat. And even getting to the dock or to the exit where they could jump off the boat when that thing started lisping would be very difficult. Those river cruises typically have a lot of elderly people on 'em that cruise up the Mississippi River. Those are not the vessels that go out to sea. Those are the river cruises that cruise up the Mississippi River [and] always have a lot of elderly people. So, I fear that it could be pretty bad, We're hoping everyone got off. But just by the number of people I'm hearing they're pulling out of the water, a dozen here, three here, having over 100 passengers on that boat, I'm really fearful that many didn't make it off. And we don't know anything for sure, but we're sure praying that they did.

LISTEN:

The United Cajun Navy, which was also docked at the Port of New Orleans for a non-rescue event, monitored the situation and were on standby should their help have been required. 

This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as warranted.