More than two dozen river barges broke free from their moorings and drifted down Pittsburgh’s Ohio River, hitting a bridge that had been preemptively closed and damaging a dock, officials said. Officials said the boats ended up getting stuck on the river banks or overturned downstream dams.

Pittsburgh police, fire and emergency medical services responded to reports of a barge “floating uncontrollably” in the river around 11:25 p.m. Friday, the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The area was hit by flooding after heavy rains on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the Sewickley Bridge was struck by a barge minutes before 2 p.m. Saturday. Spokesman Steve Cowan said the plant “was closed prior to the strike and will remain closed until our crews complete inspections.”

Officials in the town of Moon, which is connected to the community of Sewickley via the bridge, earlier said the span would be temporarily closed “due to no barges passing through.”

The lieutenant colonel said that 11 of the 26 detached barges were quickly held to one side by another tugboat downstream. Justin Jolly of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Division in Pittsburgh. A further nine were collected at Emsworth Lock and downstream dam.

Five or six barges passed through the dam. Four of them ended up at the locks and dams downstream, and one ended up on the river bank and stabilized. Jolly said maritime security authorities were searching for a barge that was unaccounted for.

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials reported damage to Page Harbor, a marina on the river. The McKees Rocks Bridge was also closed as a precaution, but reopened after an inspection, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

According to shipowners, 23 of the barges were carrying dry cargo, mainly coal, and at least one was carrying fertilizer, Jolly said. All three are empty. The city said there were no hazardous materials on board any of the vessels.

The Coast Guard issued radio notices to mariners to inform them of the potential danger, but high water levels hampered traffic on the river, Jolly said.

The city’s statement said the barges are owned or operated by Campbell Transportation. Coast Guard officials are working with the ship’s owner on a salvage plan, Jolly said. Pennsylvania State Police and other agencies were also alerted.

The bridge’s vulnerability to attacks from barges and ships was underscored last month when a container ship struck a support column on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the span to collapse and killing six road workers. fully reflected.