A cruise ship crashed into a lock on the St. Lawrence River Thursday night, injuring 17 people. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the 286-foot Saint Laurent hit a wall in the Eisenhower Lock along the St. Lawrence in Massena, just after 9 p.m. Thursday.
There were 274 people aboard the ship at the time of the crash, according to the Coast Guard. The Watertown Daily Times reports that all on board were French nationals, and the ship was headed from Montreal to Toronto. According to the Times, all injuries were reported to be minor.
The lock was drained after the crash, and the ship was evacuated. By Friday morning, the injured passengers were being taken by school bus back to the ship, where passengers spent the night, according to WWNY-TV in Watertown.
The Saint Laurent is spending the summer on the St. Lawrence. The ship stopped in Clayton in May and was scheduled to make a total of nine stops in the village this summer.
The Coast Guard reports that both doors of the lock are closed and the ship will remain in the lock until it can be moved to a different location. That means no other ship can pass through that lock on the St. Lawrence River.
