Salvage crews work to free riverboat stuck in Kentucky lake

摘要

Asmall cruise ship carrying 120 passengers and 49 crewmem-bers ran aground in the Cumberland River near Canton, Ky., and remained stuck for more dian a week. The 269-by-69-foot American Jazz grounded on a sandbar outside the navigation channel at about 1300 on July 7. The grounding happened at mile 62, which lies within a dammed section of the river known as Lake Barkley. The grounding was not reported to the Coast Guard until 0800 on July 8, said Jonathan Lally, a Coast Guard spokesman. The service is investigating the incident but has not yet determined the cause. "American Jazz continues to rest on the soft, muddy bottom (of the river)," Alexa Paolella, spokeswoman for ship operator American Cruise Lines (ACL), said in a prepared statement on July 10. "American remains fully committed to work- ing together until our riverboat can be freed from the sandbar and we anticipate diat when it does, it will be able to sail under its own power and resume all normal operations."