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 out of the water. Two OBS crewmembers died in their bedrooms, which were in the section of the dorm-coach that sustained major structural damage The engineer and two assistant engineers in the locomotive cab that was buried in mud died.

About 3 59 a m, the captain of the MAUVILLA called and advised the Coast Guard Group that he had his barges under control. He further stated that he would try to render assistance to survivors. The MAUVILLA's deckhands launched the towboat's skiff, which was near the wreckage on the east side of the river, and one deckhand rowed to people in the water and pulled them aboard. He returned several times to pick up additional survivors. When smoke from the burning oil and wreckage filled the MAUVILLA's wheelhouse, the captain was forced to back the towboat away. Meanwhile, the six barges had slipped off the bank and were drifting toward the bridge After pushing them onto the bank a second time, the captain returned to the accident site and continued to rescue survivors from the water.

By 3 20 a m., the Coast Guard Station Mobile's 19-foot, rigid-hull inflatablc (RHI) boat was under way to the accident site About 3 24 a m, the Group broadcast an "Urgent Marine Information Broadcast," stating "there has been a report of an Amtrak derailment at the junction of Bayou Sara Creek and Mobile River at Twelve Mile Island. There have been reports of persons in the water All mariners are requested to assist if possible "The captain of the MAUVILLA, still unaware of his location, called the Group about 3 25 a m. and said "We have a mess up here, this train has run off the Fourteen Mile Railroad bridge. The bridge is open, the train has run off of it and it's burning.

About 3 59 a m, the MAUVILLA's pilot, talking on the radio to the operator of the towboat SCOTT PRIDE, which was approaching the accident site, stated "I made a wrong turn I guess I can tell you. You know when you come out of the upper end of Twelve Mile Island you got a left, a iver [Big Bayou Canot], go back to your left. "About 4 am, when the assistant conductor noticed the SCOTT PRIDE moving toward him, he worked his way back lo the bridge and onto the pier on the Mobile end. From this vantage, he began waving his flashlight at the towboat The assistant conductor said he was concerned that the SCOTT PRIDE would hit the submerged coach or the people in the water When the towboat got close enough to the bridge pier, he jumped onto it.

The crew of the SCOTT PRIDE pulled 20 people out of the water Thc crew of the MAUVILLA rescued 17 people from the water. The Mobile fireboat RAMONA DOYLE, which had to navigate using radar because of the dense fog, arrived about 4 a m and, after determining that no other people remained in the water, started fighting the fire. When the towboats and traincrce had rescued most of the people from the water, the conductor and assistant conductor began taking a head count of the passengers and passed out blankets and pillows. The OBS supervisor distributed cushions, and the assistant conductor informed the 12