NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The owner of a tow boat that grounded in Lake Pontchartrain (PON'-chuh-train) says waves pushed by a passing storm front broke a line connecting the vessel and a barge it was pushing.

Todd Eymard of Hugh Eymard Towing Inc. says the captain had no choice but to run the Todd Michael onto the rocks at the lake's south shore to keep it from sinking.

The Coast Guard says two men were hoisted from the boat by an MH-65 helicopter. A third man was taken off the barge by a Coast Guard patrol boat. They were treated for minor injuries.

The barge wasn't carrying cargo and had been moved to another site by Wednesday morning. Eymard says he is working with the Coast Guard on a plan to salvage the Todd Michael.


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