LOUISVILLE, KY. – Helicopters, boats and drones searched Sunday for three missing people from a pontoon boat that struck a work barge at a bridge construction site Fourth of July night on the swift-running Ohio River.  Two people on the capsized boat died and four others were hospitalized in stable condition.

Louisville Fire Chief Greg Frederick said the accident occurred about 9:15 p.m. at the  East End Crossing bridge, which has been under construction since 2013 and is scheduled to open next year. He said chances were “slim” the missing survived.

“There could be a chance of recovering someone who might have been wearing a life preserver,” said Louisville Fire Chief Greg Frederick. “We’re not ruling out the chance that we could find someone.”

Authorities said the pontoon was on the river to view an Independence Day fireworks show at Waterfront Park in Louisville. They said the boat struck the barge just before the display started.

The bridge connects the east end of Louisville with southern Indiana near Utica. One of the victim’s bodies was found on the Indiana side of the river, and debris from the boat was discovered at a New Albany, Ind., boat ramp.

Four passengers managed to escape the capsized boat by jumping onto the barge, rescue officials said. They were hospitalized in stable condition.

The river’s rapid current prevented divers from going in the water.  The Coast Guard blocked traffic for four miles on the river to accommodate the search for survivors.

“With all the recent rains, the river conditions are pretty hazardous,” said Louisville Fire Chief Greg Frederick. “We could not put divers in the water to search. We are doing everything we can.”

Frederick said a bridge construction site video showed the pontoon smashing into the work barge, and some passengers jumping onto the barge. He said the boat had been rented from a river marina in Louisville.