India, Nov. 14 -- A river cruise ship was left badly tilted and partly submerged after a tanker struck it on the Mississippi River near the Port of New Orleans on Friday, November 13. Dramatic footage showed passengers holding on to the vessel as it leaned sharply to one side and began taking on water. Rescue operations were underway following the collision.

The passenger vessel, identified as The American Heritage, reportedly had up to 129 people on board when the incident occurred shortly after noon local time. The tanker involved in the crash was identified as Atlantic Asphalt.

Video from the scene showed the much larger tanker hitting the river cruise ship, which appeared to be near the dock when the collision happened. Following th...