We all know it's called the "Mighty Mississippi" for a good reason and it is evident in the stray barges that floated away and slammed into the Savanna-Sabula bridge.

The incident closed the bridge for three hours over the weekend but it has since reopened, according to the Carroll County Sheriff. KWQC reports that three people had to be saved as the barges broke away from the tugboats. One barge hit the Savanna-Sabula bridge on the Illinois side before running aground. The bridge was checked for damage before it was reopened. Here are a few pictures taken of the rogue barges:

The other equally unsettling two:

The stuff of nightmares, especially on the Mississippi River. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries from this incident.

What Causes Barges to Break Free?

There's no word what exactly made these sections of barges go rogue but barges could break free for a myriad of issues, including faulty tow gear. St. Louis-based Archway Marine Lighting explains that stranding can be caused by a number of things, including an underpowered tug, engine failure, outdated navigation charts, and towline or tow-gear failure.

A tugboat from Sabula managed to save several of the sections of stray barges, except for one that had floated past the bridge by the time responders were on the scene. One sinking section of the barges did hit the bridge. The tugboat that had lost the barges was able to collect a few loose sections north of the bridge.

Meanwhile, the river itself is still high, cresting today at 14.2 ft.