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By Katherine Fretland, The Times-Picayune

Thirteen people were injured in a boat collision Saturday on the Mississippi River near Fort Jackson in Buras, authorities said. A boat with United States Environmental Services crossing the river from the east bank with two passengers collided with a OMI Environmental Solutions boat traveling north carrying 17 passengers. The the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office was called at 8:18 p.m.
One passenger was thrown from the OMI boat and rescued by a passing Clean Bayou vessel, Plaquemines Commander Eric Becnel said in a press release. Becnel said several off-duty deputies used an Associated Branch Pilots boat to respond to the accident, and a boat owned by Bonvillian Marine assisted. Emergency responders from multiple agencies used a 14-foot ladder to pull the injured boaters from the river batture to land, because the river water was low.
Plaquemines emergency responders treated boaters from the 30-foot vessels, and ambulances took them to an air base in Venice. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans helicopters airlifted 13 people for transfer to hospitals. Six others declined medical care, said Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan Lally.
Two of the 13 injured boaters were in critical condition and the other 11 suffered moderate injuries, Becnel said. The boats were powered to shore at Fort Jackson.
Shaw Thompson, president of OMI, said the company's boat was returning from oil spill clean-up activities in the Venice area. Eleven of the 17 men on that boat were treated for injuries. All of the company's men, including the man who fell into the water, were released from hospitals, he said.