BALTIMORE, Maryland – A significant bridge in the US port of Baltimore catastrophically collapsed in the early morning of March 26, following a collision with a container ship. This incident resulted in cars and potentially up to 20 individuals plunging into the river beneath.
Search and rescue teams were scouring the Patapsco River for survivors after substantial sections of the 2.6km Francis Scott Key Bridge tumbled into the water.
According to Mr Kevin Cartwright, the spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department, as many as 20 people, along with numerous vehicles, including a possible tractor-trailer or a similarly large vehicle, might have ended up in the river.
“He described the situation as a mass-casualty event involving multiple agencies and predicted that the operation would continue for several days.
A video available on YouTube depicts a ship colliding with a bridge in the dark.
As the bridge collapses into the water and the ship ignites, the headlights of vehicles on the bridge are visible.
Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland, declared a state of emergency. He announced that the state was collaborating with an interagency team to swiftly mobilize federal resources from the Biden Administration. The Baltimore FBI confirmed that its personnel were present at the scene.
Baltimore, the busiest US port for car shipments, processed over 750,000 vehicles in 2022, as per the Maryland Port Administration’s data.
It remains uncertain whether any other ships were damaged or if port operations have been suspended, according to shipping and insurance sources.
Mr. Cartwright reported that they received multiple 911 calls around 1.30 am, indicating that a vessel had hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore, resulting in its collapse.
The Baltimore police were alerted to the incident at 1.35am ET (1.35pm Singapore time) on March 26.
The Associated Press has reported that several vehicles plunged into the water.
LSEG’s ship-tracking data indicates that a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, was at the accident site near the Key Bridge.
The Danish company, Maersk, confirmed in a statement that it had chartered the Dali container vessel at the time of the accident.”
