CONVENT — A barge that could contain as much as 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel sunk in the Mississippi River near Convent.

As of Tuesday morning at press time, U.S. Coast Guard authorities told L’OBSERVATEUR it was unknown if the barge had spilled the fuel into the river.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders were fist notified of a crane barge that broke free of its mooring and sank near mile marker 160 at 5:20 a.m. Monday.

The barge reportedly contains a maximum potential of 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel along with an excavator crane and backhoe.

The Coast Guard is working with the barge owner as well as ES&H, an oil spill response organization, to determine the amount of fuel in the tank.

The Coast Guard is also working with McKinney Towing & Salvage to develop a plan for salvage operations.

There were no injuries reported.

The cause of the incident is being investigated.