Sinking tugboat dumps thousands of gallons of fuel into Alabama river

A tug boat sank in the Tennessee River over the weekend, dumping thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into the water and closing beaches and parks in Alabama.

After the boat sank it began to release somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the river, police in the northwestern city of Florence said Sunday.

Soon after, diesel fuel began washing up on the shore of the beaches at McFarland Park around 10 a.m. Sunday morning, police said.

Authorities quickly began getting people out of the water, and continue to urge locals to avoid swimming and going on the beaches until further notice.

Resident RJ Gibson, who was swimming nearby Sunday morning, said the smell of fuel was strong and that he could see a shiny rainbow coloration in the river.

“Disgusting smell, very strong, very very strong smell. [It] makes your head hurt,” Gibson told News 19.

Florence-Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency Director George Grabryan Jr. t told the outlet they received a call from a resident around 10 a.m. Sunday who reported there was fuel washing up on the shore.

Following an investigation, EMA found it was coming from the Port of Florence.

“Basically, what’s been done is that area has been boomed off to hopefully slow more of that flow and the owner of that tugboat has got a cleanup contractor coming up here,” the EMA director said.

It’s unclear what caused the boat to sink or what the environmental impacts may be.

Authorities have not said how long the cleanup will take.