Tugboat Owner Blames Collapse on Coast Guard

The owner of a tugboat that allowed barges to run into a bridge, collapsing part of it and killing at least five people, said studies prove the channel was too shallow and that navigation lights malfunctioned.

Stephen Mosher, president of Brown Water Towing Inc., said Friday that seismic surveys and sonar data showed the tug touched bottom before the barges hit the bridge, which connects South Padre Island to the mainland. He said the tug couldn’t control the barges after it struck bottom.

The Coast Guard insists the Laguna Madre channel was properly maintained at a 14-foot depth. Coast Guard spokesman Alan Grodecki said that there apparently was a strong current at the time of the accident and that the Coast Guard is still investigating.

Five deaths have been confirmed since three 80-foot sections of the bridge collapsed Sept. 13. Victims drove off the bridge without realizing the section they were trying to cross was gone.

Navy divers searching the murky water have suffered cuts and broken air lines from jagged metal protruding from fallen slabs of cement.

On Thursday, divers discovered the last two vehicles still in the water. Crews worked Saturday to break up two 350-ton concrete slabs pinning the vehicles to the bottom of the channel, and divers hoped to resume their search for three missing people today.

“It looked like a war zone down there,” Navy Master Diver Duncan Allred said. “There was no way to tell whether any bodies were inboard or not, but we suspect that they’re there. However, it’s going to take some heavy lifting equipment to get them out.”

The 2-mile-long Queen Isabella Causeway carried more than 19,000 vehicles a day between the mainland and the island, a popular tourist resort.

Gov. Rick Perry has issued a disaster declaration clearing the way for money for repairs, and Texas Atty. Gen. John Cornyn has sued Brown Water Towing to recover damages.

Amadeo Saenz, of the Texas Department of Transportation, said contractors will demolish two more sections of the bridge, then stabilize the span so debris can be cleared. Repairing the bridge is expected to take about four months and cost as much as $5 million.