BILL FULLER
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard says a tugboat captain is dead after the arm of a crane struck a bridge and fell back onto the tug’s pilothouse.

Orleans Parish Coroner’s spokesman Brian Lapeyrolerie identified the victim as 46-year-old Michael Collins, who was pronounced dead shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday. Lapeyrolerie did not know Collins’ hometown.

The accident happened on the Industrial Canal north of the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

Authorities say the tugboat was pushing a barge with a crane. The crane’s arm struck a drawbridge and fell back on the tug. Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan Lally says the drawbridge was open at the time of the accident.

He says the state inspected the bridge and it has reopened to vehicle traffic.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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