What to Know
- Severe weather on Halloween night appeared to have loosened a ship that had been stuck near Niagara Falls for over a century
- It's unclear how long the ship will stay there but measures are being taken to protect visitors in case it plunges off the falls' edge
- The scow broke loose from a towing tug on Aug. 6, 1918, with two men on board and it had been stuck in the rocks there until Thursday
Severe weather that battered the Northeast this past weekend appeared to have loosened a massive ship that had been stuck near Niagara Falls for over a century.
Halloween night's heavy storms moved the dumping scow more than 150 feet downstream, Niagara Parks officials said. It's unclear how long the ship will stay there but measures are being taken to protect visitors in case it plunges off the falls' edge.
Niagara Parks officials say the iron scow was considered to be an unmovable landmark before storms dislodged it from a rocky perch.
The scow broke loose from a towing tug on Aug. 6, 1918, with two men on board. Gustav F. Lofberg and James H. Harris were quickly drifting toward the Falls, but their decision to open the scow's dumping door and flood the compartments slowed down the ship and possibly saved their lives.
They became stuck in the rocks along with the ship and emergency officials rescued the two men the following day. However, the ship was not deemed salvageable.
