For second day, crews work to extinguish burning barge on the Delaware River

Over 20 hours after it began, firefighters were still working early Wednesday to put out flames on a burning scrap metal barge on the Delaware River off the coast of Delaware.

And, officials said, the fire could burn for several more days, as well.

The incident began before noon on Tuesday, as smoke poured from a burning scrap metal barge on the Delaware River near Reedy Island in New Castle County, Delaware.

As of about 6 a.m. on Wednesday, officials said, the barge had floated down river, to waters off of Kent County in Delaware as crews worked through the night to extinguish the flames.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Delaware Emergency Management Agency said that members of the Coast Guard and fire companies from New Jersey and Delaware expect to continue to work on the fire for several days.

“The operation is being jointly coordinated by New Jersey, Delaware, and the Coast Guard and is projected to continue overnight, into tomorrow, and possibly further into the week,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

Officials have not yet details what may have caused the fire.

As they worked on Tuesday, crews moved the barge to a shallow cove about two miles off the New Jersey side of the river to help first responders bring the fire under control.

No injuries have been reported in this incident.

Also, officials said, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control was also at the scene to monitor the air quality.

And, the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team has found no reported air quality issues because of this incident.