Crews are working while they wait for pumps to remove all the water and other liquid from the towboat at LeClaire. Yesterday, using a large crane on a barge, they successfully raised the boat from the bottom of the Mississippi River. Several big hooks and lines make a sling, which is holding the towboat in a normal position on the river, while the water streams out.
The Coast Guard has also revised the amounts of water and oil recovered after the boat hit something in the river and caused an oil spill more than two weeks ago. Nearly 40,000 gallons of oily water have been recovered from the river, while 89,000 gallons were pumped out of the sunken towboat. The Coast Guard blames a math error for a previous, incorrect report.
(Coast Guard photos, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally)