Ship collides with Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse
Baltimore’s Chesapeake Bay bridge collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning after colliding with a large cargo ship traversing the crossing.
Two people so far have been pulled from the waters following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge, according to the New York Times. Video of the incident was captured on a real-time, 24-hour streaming video monitoring the bridge which showed an explosion at the base of the bridge before the entire structure fell. Other vehicles plunged into the water, necessitating an emergency response by the Coast Guard and local authorities.
James Wallace, the city’s fire chief, said first responders are still searching for “upwards of seven” members of a road repair crew who were scheduled to perform overnight work on the bridge, he told reporters Tuesday morning. The fire department is using sonar to search for vehicles that fell into the water, he added.
There is “absolutely no indication” that the shipping vessel, later identified as the 948-foot Dali, intentionally struck the bridge, according to Baltimore police commissioner Richard Worley.
“We received several 911 calls at around 1:30 a.m., that a vessel struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the collapse. This is currently a mass casualty incident and we are searching for seven people who are in the river,” a spokesman for the Baltimore Fire Department told Reuters. “This is a dire emergency. Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.”
Baltimore Mayor Brendon Scott wrote in his own statement, “Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway.”
“We are in the midst of managing a mass casualty multi-agency incident here.” He continued, “Unfortunately, we understand that there are up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco River as well as multiple vehicles,” said fire department spokesman Kevin Cartwright on CNN.
A bridge in US city of #Baltimore has entirely collapsed into Patapsco River after being hit by a container ship.
7 people and several vehicles have fallen into the river, says Baltimore City Fire Department. #FrancisScottKeyBridge pic.twitter.com/yXg9rTxg2K— Dr.Shaun🇵🇸 (@fiftysix56__) March 26, 2024
The Francis Scott Key bridge overlooks one of the most critical shipping lanes along the East Coast, and its collapse is sure to create a chain of backlogs that will affect the arrival of goods throughout the mid-Atlantic region but especially in the area between Washington, D.C. and New York.
Baltimore is counted as the ninth-largest port in the country, according to the American Tribune, receiving over 52 million tons of international cargo worth over $80 billion last year.
🚨#BreakingNews: Praying for Baltimore, still 20 people missing in Francis Scott Key Bridge on I-695 Collapse.
I haven’t seen such scary collapse 😥 pic.twitter.com/XW6GGlinJk
— RanaJi🏹 (@RanaTells) March 26, 2024
