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Some 300 gallons of crude oil has spilled into the Mississippi River in Alton this morning after a vessel ran into a fleeting area near Alton, causing barges to break away.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it happened just before one this morning. 14 barges, two dry docks and two workplats broke away. The Captain of the Port closed the river from mile marker 194 to 198 after the accident. All barges, flts and dry-docks were secured and the river reopened at 2:13 a.m. Friday.

The Coast Guard is checking for any environmental damage by inspecting facilities, barges and the shoreline.

The Mississippi River is closed near St. Louis again.  This time, the problem is several barges that broke loose and collided with some docked barges.  

The Coast Guard says it happened around midnight near the confluence with the Missouri River.

 Early reports indicate that the accident may have caused a significant oil spill in the river.

  The bodies of two Missouri boaters are now been recovered after the men went missing on the Mississippi River near Hartford in southern Illinois.

   Illinois conservation police said Monday that 46-year-old Wendell Robinson of Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo., was found Sunday in the river at Cape Girardeau, Mo. The body of the other boater, 60-year-old Mike Flythe of St. Louis, was found April 21. Authorities say the men's boat capsized near where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet on April 6.

   The Telegraph in Alton reports that Flythe's body was found about 15 miles away from the accident scene. Robinson's body was missing for 22 days and found about 100 miles away.

   One boy was rescued after the accident.

   A man and his teenage son are safe after being rescued from the Mississippi River Tuesday evening.  

   About 6 p.m. the two had become stranded when their johnboat snagged on debris near the Ameren Rush Island power plant about 12 miles south of Crystal City.  

   The Coast Guard was unable to launch an immediate rescue operation because their nearby boat launches were all underwater.  

   Crews from the Jefferson County R-7 Fire Department did get a boat in the water and rescued the pair just before 8 p.m.  

   Both the father and his 15 year old son were treated for exposure, but are expected to recover.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Millions of gallons of raw sewage are pouring into the Mississippi River from a St. Louis wastewater treatment plant where two of three pumps have failed.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District spokesman Lance LeComb says the pumps went out on Sunday night, and it's unclear how quickly they may be fixed or replaced.

LeComb says the plant takes in 110 million gallons of sewage a day. While acknowledging the spillage's seriousness, he says the sewage that makes its way into the river is being diluted by the rain-swollen waterway.

He says the spill has been reported to the state.

The spill isn't likely to affect the river's recreational users, given that the currents are dangerously elevated. But many communities downriver from St. Louis draw their drinking water from the river.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A stretch of the Mississippi River near St. Louis is reopened to shipping after the Coast Guard concluded 11 barges that sank last weekend in the rain-swollen waterway weren't a hazard to navigation.

The 15-mile stretch was reopened Monday, while investigators continue trying to determine what caused 114 barges to break free Saturday night from where they were docked in St. Louis County.

Four of the barges hit the Jefferson Barracks Bridge spanning the river between Missouri and Illinois. Officials determined that the bridge was undamaged.

All of the barges that didn't sink were corralled.

Coast Guard Lt. Colin Fogarty says the breakaway could have been caused by various factors related to the elevated current of the rain-swollen river.

Fogarty says efforts to salvage the sunken barges will begin soon.

   A flood warning remains in effect for communities along the Mississippi River, including St. Louis.  

   As of 9:30 PM Sunday, the river was at at 33.7 feet in St. Louis, 3.7 feet above flood stage.

   The sight of so much water swamping the levy is drawing gawkers, locals as well as tourists, to the Arch grounds.

   Plenty of sightseers spent a sunny Sunday afternoon snapping pictures of the rising river, the water covering Lenore K. Sullivan Blvd. and the lower steps of the Arch just off the roadway.

   But the high river levels mean the current is so swift, huge logs and debris are being swept downstream, a reminder of why it is called the Mighty Mississippi.

   That strong current pulled more than 100 barges loose Saturday night, several hitting the JB Bridge, forcing its closure while an inspection was conducted.  MoDOT's check of the bridge showed no damage, so the span was reopened.  

   The river, however, remains closed to traffic because of concerns that some sunken barges may be blocking the navigation channel.  And more rain, expected Monday night and Tuesday, means it could be closed for some time.

CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — People in the eastern Missouri hamlet of Clarksville are getting a boost from the Missouri National Guard and even from prison inmates as they battle the surging Mississippi River.

The river is expected to crest nearly 11 feet above flood stage on Sunday at Clarksville, an unprotected town of 442 residents about 60 miles north of St. Louis. Residents and volunteers have built a makeshift levee made of gravel, plastic overlay and sandbags. On Saturday, attention turned to making sure the sandbag levee is sturdy enough to hold back the water.

Governor Jay Nixon visited Clarksville on Saturday.

   Flooding continues to be a problem in the St. Louis metro area as rain-swollen creeks remain out of their banks.  

   Now the National Weather Service is warning that the Mighty Mississippi will likely over-spill it's banks in the next few days.  A flood warning has been issued for communities along the river from Canton, Missouri -- north of Hannibal, to Chester, Illinois.  That warning includes the riverfront in St. Louis.  

   Officials say the Mississippi will rise above flood stage by Friday evening.  It's expected to crest at around 39.4 feet by Tuesday morning.  

A bad turn in their Smart car plunges two men into the Mississippi River this morning.

They were able to escape on their own but but were helped up the riverbank near Mullanphy Street north of downtown by rescue workers just after 10 a.m.

Both were treated at the scene by paramedics, but their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. One had his arm put in a sling by rescue workers.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports officials say it appeared the men were trying to turn the vehicle around when they backed over the embankment and into the water.