LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The process of salvaging a string of sunken barges at the McAlpine Dam is underway.
Crews from two salvage firms have started scooping coal out of the barges that sank on the upstream side of the dam following a Christmas night incident.
Those crews, who are being paid by the owner of the barges, are expected to be on the scene for several weeks, estimating it will take a day or two per barge to unload them before they can be raised and towed away.
Currently, seven of the nine barges sitting against the dam have sunk. The remaining six barges that were part of the tow were immediately recovered.
An Army Corps of Engineers spokesman says the coal is still usable but was unsure of how that process would go.
PHOTO: Deni Kamper, WLKY News