Body Recovered After Minn. Tugboat Accident

DRESBACH, Minn., July 4 -- Specialized divers recovered the body of a 22-year-old man who drowned in a four-level tugboat when it lost power, sailed over a dam roller and capsized in the Mississippi River early Wednesday.

Tyler Trussoni of Genoa, Wis., was trapped inside the third level when the vessel flipped on its side about 6:15 a.m. and lodged itself just below Lock and Dam No. 7, Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said.

Divers recovered his body about 3:15 p.m. He was wearing a life vest.

"It is with profound grief that we have recovered the body of our missing crew member from the Megan McB," said Mark Binsfeld, business manager for Brennan Marine Inc., a La Crosse-based company that owns the tugboat. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and fellow crew members as we mourn a loss to the Brennan team."

Two other crewmen aboard the top level of the boat escaped with minor injuries, Brand said. Both wore life vests.

The emergency began just before 6:15 a.m. when the massive vessel lost power above the lock and dam. The crew did not alert lock operators of a problem, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman George Stringham said.

The only two lock operators working witnessed the drifting tugboat tumble over the roller about 45 seconds after spotting it, he said.

"At that point they knew it was in distress," Stringham said.

One operator jumped into a rescue boat while the other helped load it into the water and called authorities. One of the survivors was gripping the tugboat's railing. The other was floating in the water, Stringham said.

Law enforcement, dive and rescue teams and fire departments from two counties, a helicopter and the U.S. Coast Guard launched a massive search for Trussoni with hopes he somehow emerged from the vessel.

The Coast Guard shut down a six-mile stretch of the Mississippi until 5 p.m. The dam also closed to reduce the current.

Emergency responders focused their search efforts on the Megan McB tugboat, but a high water level and swift current made searching the massive vessel difficult, Brand said. It filled with water after coming to rest on concrete slabs beneath the surface.

Rescuers in a basket attached to a crane atop the dam broke windows and tried to find Trussoni's body with a pole before the specialized divers responded. Authorities also used a robot equipped with an underwater camera to search the vessel.

It was specialized divers from Brennen who found Trussoni, a tug crewman of three years.

The Coast Guard will investigate how the boat lost power before passing though the dam's first roller, turning and flopping over, Brand said. He did not know plans to remove it.

The Megan McB is Brennan's newest boat. Launched Nov. 1 and christened just last month, the vessel was built by Tel City Boat Works in Tel City, Ind. Construction of the Megan McB marked the first time Tel City Boat Works had built an inland river vessel.

Tell City representatives did not return Tribune phone calls Wednesday.

Binsfeld confirmed mechanical problems likely contributed to the capsizing. High water and a strong current were other factors, he said.

About 88,900 cubic feet of water passed through the dam per second on Wednesday. The average for this time of year is 33,000 cubic feet of water per second, Stringham said.

The Megan McB was assigned to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week switching barges, fleeting and assisting at the lock.

The disaster Wednesday marks the second time a boat has sank at the lock and dam this year.

On Memorial Day, 11 people aboard a houseboat owned by Mississippi River Rentals survived after the vessel lost power and was sucked over the same roller as the tugboat.

In 2007, four members of a family drowned at the dam when their boat lost power and was swept under. The body of a 10-year-old boy was never found.

It's pure coincidence, Winona County Chief Deputy Ron Ganrude said.

"It's not the roller's fault," he said. "It's not the dam's."

Tribune reporter Matt Hoffman contributed to this story.

Copyright 2013 - La Crosse Tribune, Wis.