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Sprayed Towboat Crew Seems Healthy
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Crew members who were aboard a Mississippi River towboat when a crop duster sprayed it with an unknown substance have reported no health problems but were given an antibiotic as a precaution, health officials said Sunday.
The towboat's skipper reported that the low-flying plane sprayed the towboat and barges Friday near Rosedale, Miss., then circled around and sprayed a pleasure craft. Officials were still searching for the pleasure boat.
``This was a deliberate act by a crop duster - this was no accident,'' said Kent Buckley of the Bolivar County Emergency Management Agency.
Buckley said officials suspect the sprayed substance was sodium chlorate, used to defoliate cotton crops. Buckley said that sodium chlorate is similar to salt water and is not dangerous.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked the Mississippi Department of Health to test the unknown substance, said NancyKay Wessman, spokeswoman for the state health department.
Officials do not know who owns the plane and are looking for witnesses who may have seen an identifying number, Buckley said.
It was unclear how many crew members were on the towboat or if any were on deck when the plane passed over; owners of the towboat at Metropolis, Ill.-based Mid South Towing could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Lt. Dale R. Dean of the U.S. Coast Guard said no crew members reported any symptoms. As a precaution, the crew was given the drug Cipro, the primary antibiotic used to treat anthrax, Buckley said.
The FBI is investigating; Mississippi FBI spokesman Jeffery Artis declined to comment. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Coast Guard and the CDC were also involved in the investigation.
The towboat and its 17 barges have been grounded and quarantined near Rosedale. Their contents were unknown.