2 missing, 4 rescued from James River boat collision

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Two boaters are missing but four people have been rescued after a collision between a recreational boat and an oyster barge on Virginia’s James River.

The Coast Guard says the collision occurred Saturday morning near Portsmouth. Good Samaritans rescued four people from the water.

Rescue boats, a helicopter and a Virginia Marine Police plane have been deployed to find the two recreational boaters still missing.

Authorities closed the river Saturday afternoon between the James River Bridge and the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel as they conducted their search.

The Coast Guard says the barge was being pushed by a tug and headed for an oyster bed near the James River Bridge when the collision occurred.