For the second time in five days, a cargo barge has struck the Old Mississippi River Bridge and sunk.

A boat pushing 25 barges full of grain struck the bridge at 9:57 a.m. Monday, according to Herman Smith of the Vicksburg Bridge Commission of Warren County.

One of those barges sank to the bottom of the river.

The boat was being operated by Marquette Transportation Company.

Railroad traffic over the bridge has been shut down since the incident. Smith said that his team is currently inspecting any possible damage and that railroad and bridge engineers are on en route to do further inspections.

Smith added that the boat and barges hit the bridge as a single unit, with the barges packed five-wide and five-long. The collision caused the right-hand column of barges to break free, and the barge at the front of that column was the one that made contact with the bridge and sank after clearing the structure. He estimates the barge, after going underwater, could have travelled another mile or so downstream.

Smith did not speculate on the cause of the collision.