Workers clean diesel fuel spill in Missouri River

ST. LOUIS — Clean-up work continues after a towboat named the Omaha began sinking and spilling diesel fuel in the Missouri River.

Larry Archer, Department of Natural Resources spokesman, says diesel leaked from vents in the boat’s fuel tanks after it ran aground Friday near West Alton. Divers over the weekend closedoff the vents.

There was a plan Friday to pump diesel off the boat, but that was put on hold until salvage workers arrived Monday.

Archer says wind and the current directed much of the leaking fuel toward slower stretches of the river, where absorbent materials were in place to contain the fuel.