A cargo ship struck a major Baltimore bridge on Tuesday morning, sending numerous cars into the water.
Following a 948-foot container ship flying the flag of Singapore that was en route to Sri Lanka colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore firefighters looked for at least seven people. Twenty people and multiple cars got into the river, resulting in a “mass casualty event.”
The load is seen in X footage colliding with a Baltimore bridge core support, causing the 2.6-kilometre br
dge to collapse and sending numerous cars plummeting into the Patapsco River.
Black smoke billowed from the bridge, signalling a ship fire as part of it collapsed.
Two people were rescued; one of them was “severely” injured and in critical condition, according to officials at a pre-dawn press conference.
On Tuesday morning, a NOAA buoy recorded a temperature in the river of 47 degrees Fahrenheit, or 8 degrees Celsius.
The on-ramp of the bridge came to a sudden stop, and a ragged steel structure rose out of the water.
The incident on the I-695 Key Bridge stopped all lanes. The Maryland Transportation Authority diverted X. Following a ship strike, the I-695 Baltimore bridge collapses. It claimed to be colourful.
Director of Communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, Kevin Cartwright, claimed that at 1:30 in the morning, 911 calls indicated a boat leaving Baltimore had overturned a bridge column. On the bridge was a single tractor-trailer.
Cartwright continued, “Our current focus is trying to rescue and recover these people.” Although it was too early to estimate casualties, he described the collapse as a “developing mass casualty event.”
Cartwright deemed rescue operations hazardous due to “some cargo or retainers” hanging from the Baltimore bridge. He said, “This is a dire emergency.”
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According to the New York Times, at 1:27 a.m. ET, Baltimore petty officer first class Matthew West reported a collision with the coastguard. West reported that the cargo ship Dali, flying the flag of Singapore, collided with the Interstate 695 bridge.
The Singapore MPA, US Coast Guard, and ship management company confirmed the vessel’s registry. We will also investigate this matter.
Singapore reported 22 crew members.
Baltimore was chartered by Maersk. There are 22 Indian crew members in the report. No one from Maersk took part.
The ship only carried 4,679 of the 10,000 containers it could hold.
The company stated, “We are appalled by the events in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all those impacted.”
By 1 a.m., according to MarineTraffic, the Dali had departed Baltimore for Colombo.
The ship struck a bridge, according to Dali’s handler, Synergy Marine Group. Even the two pilots did not sustain any injuries.
Dali has sent out its skilled individual incident response service, despite the fact that the reason is unknown.
A collision with the same vessel in Antwerp in 2016 was documented by Shipwrecklog and Vessel Finder.
Its bow scraped the dock as it was leaving port, shattering many metres of hull. It was retained by the authorities.
Vessel Finder accused the pilot and master of the ship when the weather was good. Nobody sustained any injuries.
The mayor of Baltimore, Brandon M. Scott, described it as an “unthinkable tragedy” during an early-morning press conference. “You would never think the Baltimore bridge would fall.” It resembled an action movie.”
When said that they should preserve lives and souls from the sea when questioned about the timing for repairing the bridge.
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Rescue efforts and emergency services got underway, according to county executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.
“There is absolutely no indication that there was any terrorism or that this was done on purpose,” according to officials.
Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, declared an emergency. “We are collaborating with an interagency group to promptly allocate federal resources under the Biden Administration.” We wish everyone safety and appreciate the courageous rescuers. As we look into and address this tragedy, we’ll keep the federal, state, and local rescue teams informed.
The White House is keeping a “close eye” on events. It said, “The US Coast Guard is looking for victims of bridge collapses.” Senior White House staff members support mayors and governors. I do not perceive anything bad.
It remarked that “our hearts go out” to the victims and families of the “horrific incident.”
The 1977 bridge crosses the Patapsco River, an east coast commerce route, and Baltimore Port. Its namesake is the author of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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