All passengers accounted for after New Orleans ship collision

All passengers are believed to be accounted for after a tanker collided with a cruise ship on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday, leaving 32 people in hospital, the city's mayor said.

"At this moment, the information that we have, we have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi," Mayor Helena Moreno said.

None of the 32 passengers being treated in hospital had suffered life-threatening injuries, she said.

Moreno said the tanker Atlantic Asphalt had lost control and crashed into the river cruise ship American Heritage.

A serious technical problem was probably responsible for the collision, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. It was possible that the tanker had earlier hit a bridge, triggering a chain reaction, with a relatively mild outcome, he said.

Passengers tried to evacuate the cruise ship immediately after the collision, but it quickly began listing before rolling onto its side, sending several people into the water.

More than 130 passengers were on board at the time, CNN reported, citing port authorities. Many of the passengers were elderly, prompting initial fears that some could be trapped inside the vessel.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry praised the first responders, saying they "saved countless lives today."

"This is nothing short of a miracle," he wrote on X.

President Donald Trump also praised the rescue effort on his Truth Social platform.

"Law Enforcement and First Responders were fantastic! Incredibly, nobody was killed by this major collision," he wrote.