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The Coast Guard says salvage operations are to start after two barges carrying iron ore sank in the Ohio River near downtown Louisville, Ky.

Authorities shut traffic down on the river near where the two barges sank June 6.

Coast Guard Lt. j.g. John Adkins said June 7 that officials are weighing whether that stretch of the river can be opened on a restricted basis. Adkins says nearly a dozen vessels were backed up waiting for the river to reopen to traffic.

He says officials are hoping salvage operations can recover the iron ore from the barges. He says buoys have been placed marking where the barges sank in a section of the river that’s 35 to 40 feet deep.

The Coast Guard says no injuries were reported in the sinking and no hazardous materials were released.