Barge hits railroad bridge in British Columbia

The following is the text of a news report from The Vancouver Sun:

(VANCOUVER, British Columbia) (Feb. 19) — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a team of investigators to an incident involving a tugboat on the north arm of the Fraser River.

Transportation officials say the tugboat Stormcrest was towing a barge that struck a CN bridge. The TSB will gather information and assess the situation.

Emily Hamer, a spokeswoman for CN Rail, said the incident happened Tuesday night at the Lulu Island Swingspan bridge.

She said there was no train on the bridge at the time the barge hit, and there were no injuries reported. Some repairs are needed so train operations in that area have been suspended while crews fix the bridge. She expected it would not reopen until later Thursday.

By Professional Mariner Staff