Barge collides into bridge off Texas coast, causing oil spill

A barge has hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, spilling oil and closing the lone road to a nearby island.

Images from the incident, which occurred on Wednesday morning, show a damaged column from the bridge, partly collapsed on to the barge.

The vessel was carrying a base petroleum product, a type of petroleum oil, Texas officials told the BBC.

The US Coast Guard went to the scene to assess the extent of the damages.

The barge hit Galveston’s Pelican Island Causeway at round 10:00 CST (14:00 BST), damaging the bridge and requiring the sole passageway to Pelican Island to be closed.

Officials said that the collision caused an oil spill in the bay, where the barge still remains at the site of the crash.

“There are reports of sheen in the water,” a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard’s Texas division said.

“We don’t have an accurate number yet of the amount of whatever product is in the water.”

The barge has a capacity of about 30,000 gallons, according to the BBC’s media partner CBS News.

Engineers from the Texas Department of Transportation will “inspect the roadway and determine if there is damage”, Galveston officials said.

The bridge will remain closed until it has been determined safe to use.

The impact led to a brief power outage on Pelican Island, a community of roughly 9,000 people. Power has since been restored.