Man missing in Potomac after accident

Updated, 2:18 a.m.

One person remained missing in the Potomac River south of Washington early Wednesday after an accident involving a work boat, the Maryland Natural Resources Police said. A search was still underway at 1 a.m.

The incident occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday near the middle of the river, about two miles upstream from the Route 301 bridge, said NRP spokesman Sgt. Art Windemuth.

He said the missing person had been with a second person in a steel-hulled work boat, which is used for pushing a barge. They had been testing a piece of pile-driving equipment, Windemuth said. Their boat "hit a wake and went under," he said.

The natural resources police were investigating, as well as coordinating a search that included fire departments from Charles County, Md., and King George County, Va. The U.S. Coast Guard was also searching, Windemuth said.

The river is about three miles wide where the incident occurred, about 50 miles south of Washington.

--Martin Weil