Watch: Barge hits Texas bridge and causes oil spill
A barge has hit a bridge in Texas, triggering an oil spill and closing the only access road to a small island.
Aerial footage shows the bridge, that connects Galveston to Pelican Island, did not collapse and the vessel remains next to it with black oil leaking out of it into the water.
Two workers were on board at the time, one of them fell into the water but was recovered quickly and sustained no injuries.
About 6.5 miles of nearby waterways have been closed.
The barge hit the bridge shortly before 10am when “the current was very bad and the tide was high”, according to David Flores, a bridge superintendent for the Galveston County Navigation District.
A tugboat operator had been pushing two barges along and lost control of them, Mr Flores told reporters.
A section of the railway that runs alongside the bridge collapsed, with concrete and part of the track landing on the vessel.
Mr Flores said the railway line is only in place to protect the structure and has never been used.
The barge is owned by Martin Petroleum and has a 30,000 gallon capacity, but it is currently unclearn how the leak happened.
Pelican Island is a few miles wide and is home to Texas A&M University at Galveston, a large shipyard and naval museum and other industrial facilities.
The island is home to approximately 450 people, most of whom study or work at the university.
After an initial assessment, the 200 people who were on the campus were allowed to evacuate using the bridge, if they wanted to.
The university has said it will stay shut over the weekend but that students and staff who live on campus were allowed to remain there.
The US Coast Guard is investigating the extent of the spill and will start the cleanup process in due course.
Officials did not have any immediate information on damage to the bridge or if there were any injuries.
The incident comes just weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after a large vessel hit it, killing six construction workers.
The Dali container ship is still stuck in the water under debris from the collapse, which authorities are working to clear.
