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Message
On this date in 1976, George Prince (Luling) Ferry Disaster
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:06 pm
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:06 pm
LINK
We were living just outside Luling (Ama) at the time. My stepdad used that ferry for his work commute, but fortunately he was not aboard that morning. I still remember it pretty clearly, even though I was only nine years old.
quote:
On Oct. 20, 1976, the worst ferry disaster in the history of the United States occurred on the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish. Seventy-seven lives were lost. The people of Louisiana will never forget you.
It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and dark at dawn, without fog, as the 50-year-old George Prince Ferry was making its passageway across the Mississippi River from Destrehan to Luling. The skipper was captain Gene Auletta. Ninety-five people were aboard that morning, most of them young men who worked at the plants on the riverbank.
As the George Prince traveled close to a mile from the East Bank to the West Bank, a 22,000-ton Norwegian tanker, the Frosta, sighted the ferry dangerously close to the front of the ship's bow. Pilot Nicholas Colombo signaled the George Prince several times, but it was too late. A massive collision ensued.
Relatives and friends of those aboard the George Prince anxiously stood vigil on the Mississippi River levee for days, watching the rescue efforts and waiting for news of their loved ones. Hard hats and lunch pails washed ashore on the riverbank. Gov. Edwin Edwards walked through those assembled there, attempting to console the families. President Gerald Ford's personal emissary, Ed Foreman, was also at the disaster site.
We were living just outside Luling (Ama) at the time. My stepdad used that ferry for his work commute, but fortunately he was not aboard that morning. I still remember it pretty clearly, even though I was only nine years old.
14
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:09 pm to High C
How did they die?
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:09 pm to High C
quote:
We were living just outside Luling (Ama) at the time
was a freshman at LSU, a buddy and I drove down there to watch them hauling up cars, some of those cars were eventually recovered at the mouth, iirc
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:10 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
How did they die?
Hypothermia or drowning.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:12 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
How did they die?
They drowned
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:13 pm to High C
quote:
(Ama)
Isn't that Pokey's hometown?
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:18 pm to No Colors
quote:
How did they die?
They drowned
I just let that one go, what a stupid fricking question
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:19 pm to 777Tiger
I used to pass Ama every day to get mail from Mrs. Champagne the postmistress. Ama, the home of Leron Landry.
I lived just off Hwy 90 and heard the sirens that morning, I turned on the news and saw what was going on, I called the CG and asked if they needed any tugs to help, sent one they asked for and I boarded it at Farmer's elevator. That was a terrible scene, so many people crying and praying, we ferried some groups from the east bank so they wouldn't have to drive down to the HP Long.
I lived just off Hwy 90 and heard the sirens that morning, I turned on the news and saw what was going on, I called the CG and asked if they needed any tugs to help, sent one they asked for and I boarded it at Farmer's elevator. That was a terrible scene, so many people crying and praying, we ferried some groups from the east bank so they wouldn't have to drive down to the HP Long.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:20 pm to Bestbank Tiger
quote:
Isn't that Pokey's hometown?
I’m not sure. We only lived there for about nine months, in a trailer park right off River Road. I could practically throw a rock and hit the Mississippi River levee from our mobile home.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:20 pm to High C
quote:
It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and dark at dawn, without fog
This jumped out to me. I didn’t realize it was that cold that morning. I wonder if it played a factor somehow.
That’s unusually cold for mid-late October. Something like the ferry crew was unprepared for the cold and hunkered down with their attention distracted by trying to keep warm.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:20 pm to High C
That accident made LaPlace lawyer Danny Becnel a very rich man..
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:21 pm to 777Tiger
I think he was implying the question - it’s a ferry. When it begins to go down just get off and swim to shore?
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:21 pm to Hangover Haven
quote:
That accident made LaPlace lawyer Danny Becnel a very rich man..
and the father of a DZ that I was friends with, her dad owned the crane company used to recover the wreckage and had an underwater offshore/salvage company that did that part
This post was edited on 10/20/24 at 3:23 pm
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:24 pm to Zzyzx
quote:
When it begins to go down just get off and swim to shore?
in Luling? seriously?
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:35 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
When it begins to go down just get off and swim to shore?
The Miss River down here is no place for swimmers or small boats, in the fall when the river is starting to rise, it is full of driftwood, swift currents and eddy's everywhere. If you are lucky enough to get near a tree that lines the bank, there are snakes everywhere, a lot of them cottonmouths.
I worked on the river for 32 years, fell in once and was lucky enough to grab a rope on the side of a barge until I got rescued. It was in February, I was in the water less than 5 minutes, I likely would not have been able to hold on much longer.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:38 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
When it begins to go down just get off and swim to shore?
in Luling? seriously?
No way they can be familiar with the river in that area. Not to mention the fact that most of the dead were likely sitting in their cars/trucks when the ferry went down.
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:45 pm to High C
I was going to Nicholl’s in 1976. Have never forgotten that it was the “ Frosta”.
Some classmates were lost.
Some classmates were lost.
This post was edited on 10/20/24 at 3:49 pm
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:46 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
777Tiger
I know that was a joke capt but that river isnt exactly the chatahoochie
we still hold a vigil every year for those we lost, and i can swim just fine sir.
Eta- like somebody else mentioned, it was 40degrees that morning on the river which amplified the cold….most if not all were sitting in their cars.
This post was edited on 10/20/24 at 3:50 pm
Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:48 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
those cars were eventually recovered at the mouth, iirc
Stuff like cars, tugs, barges etc are buried long before they get to the mouth of the river. Posted on 10/20/24 at 3:51 pm to 777Tiger
The ferry was flipped over and most people were in their vehicles and never got a chance to save themselves. I knew 2 of the survivors. They said it was still dark and they couldn’t see what was going on. What alerted them was some motorcyclists laying their bikes down and taking off running to the stern. They sensed something dangerously wrong and got out of their truck and began running in the same direction of the guys who laid down their motorcycles When they at last saw what was about to happen they bailed off the stern of the ferry into the river. They said the only reason they survived was because they were clear of the ferry when it flipped over. One man was pulled from the water within 10 minutes the other man was treading water for 45 minutes. He told me he was so tired that he was to the point of giving up when he felt a rope hit him. He was hauled into safety and thanks to the brave volunteers his life was saved. He suffered from nightmares many months after the ordeal. He said the worst part was hearing all the anguished screaming as the ferry overturned which he could not get off his mind.
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