Posted on 03/26/2024 11:39:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
Shipping containers damaged by the ship hitting the bridge early on the morning of March 26, 2024. (Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue 1 Team)
The crew of a massive container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday warned of power issues before the collision, which caused the bridge to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River, officials said.
At least six people believed to be part of a construction crew that was repairing potholes on the bridge remain unaccounted for, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said at a news conference Tuesday.
Two people have been pulled from the Patapsco River, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace said. One of them was not injured and the other was taken to a local trauma center in “very serious condition,” he said.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning after it was struck by a 984-foot cargo ship. (via CNN Newsource)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the warning from the ship’s crew likely saved lives.
“I’m thankful for the folks who, once the warning came up, and once notification came up that there was a mayday, who literally by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes,” Moore said.
Several vehicles are believed to have fallen into the water, including one as large as a tractor-trailer, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications of the Baltimore City Fire Department said early Tuesday.
“We have an unspeakable tragedy,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN.
“There were individuals working on the bridge at the time. There are cars in the water – our fire department has confirmed that as they lead this search-and-rescue mission through sonar. That is where our focus is – it’s about those souls, those people we’re trying to find and get out of this water,” Scott said.
Construction workers contracted with the state transportation agency were doing repair work on the bridge at the time of the collapse, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said Tuesday morning. He did not specify how many workers were there.
The ship, which hit the bridge just before 1:30 a.m., was the DALI, a Singaporean-flagged container vessel, public affairs officer for the US Coast Guard’s 5th District, Kimberly Reaves, said. It is about 984-feet long, according to MarineTraffic data.
Lights on the ship flickered and a dark plume of smoke could be seen billowing from it before it veered towards a bridge pillar shortly before impact, CNN analysis of data from the MarineTraffic ship-tracking website shows.
No crew members on the ship were injured, ship management company Synergy Group said a statement.
Multiple agencies are investigating the crash, though there is currently “absolutely no indication that it was intentional,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Tuesday morning.
The 1.6-mile, four-lane bridge extends over the Patapsco River and serves as the outermost crossing of the Baltimore harbor and an essential link of I-695, or the Baltimore Beltway.
Here are the latest developments:
• Multiple air and marine units have been deployed for the search, and personnel from the local fire and police departments, as well as the Coast Guard and Baltimore FBI are on scene to assist, officials said Tuesday. • Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning. • The White House is closely monitoring the situation, an official told CNN. • US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he is offering federal support in response to the collapse. • Danish Shipping company Maersk told CNN it chartered the ship, which was carrying Maersk customer cargo. The company said no Maersk personnel were onboard the vessel, which is operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group. • The ship has been inspected 27 times since its was built in 2015 and has had two “deficiencies,” including one for structural damage, according to records from the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System.
Rescue effort underway Dive operations in the search and rescue effort have begun, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski told CNN.
“The conditions are difficult,” Olszewski said. “We’re talking about a deep channel port. It’s 40, 50 feet of water, strong currents. The weather is windy, the water is cold. And so we certainly worry about those who are in the water, not to mention the fall from the bridge.”
Teams were working “methodically and safely” to ensure “everyone operating here on the scene is safe and that we’re able to make progress without causing adverse harm to anyone else,” Cartwright said.
High tide could present a challenge for rescuers looking for people, Wallace, the fire chief, said.
Officials will rely on the expert divers assisting with the search “to tell us when they believe we’ve reached that non-survivability point,” Wallace said.
All traffic is being detoured away from the bridge, said the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Video of the collision shows a towering boat headed directly toward one of the bridge’s support columns before colliding with it, sending a massive stretch of the bridge crashing into the water below in mere seconds. The impact immediately triggered the collapse of adjacent portions of the bridge.
The crash sent large plumes of smoke and fire into the air and part of the bridge appeared to collapse over the front of the boat, video footage showed. Dark smoke continued to rise into the air for several minutes.
The bridge’s namesake, Francis Scott Key, is believed to have sat near the site of the bridge as he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, inspiring him to write the words of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
They did drop at least one anchor. Over .5 knots, anchors aren’t going to do much.
Why?
Power was out, lowering a big ship’s anchor is not simple.
I’ve read the back anchor was dropped shortly before hitting the bridge support column.
I’ve seen the videos. Some are excellent quality. For some reason they were not going under the bridge in the center (taller and wider) space between columns. It looked like they were trying to move toward the other side of the column where it was taller and wider.
an extension cord is only so long but the idiots dont know this
Two females from AccuWeather wrote this garbage. Give me some effing TRUTH! Stop the B.S.!
Pilots do not make this level of mistakes.
CNN......
22 crew, all from India.
Possible Hindi who loves the anti-western Hindustanian media - might be a source of trouble (and is pro-Russian). But unknown in online info, for the moment.
I am staying with “an accident” waiting to happen.
After September 11, 2001, Maryland debated about building defense structures (reinforced bollards) to protect the bridge, but that plan was set aside because of high cost estimates.
Is there another kind of harm than adverse?
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, spanning the entrance / exit to the Inner Harbor and Curtis Bay. This closes the port of Baltimore for the time being.
The ship weighs 100K tons; dropping that anchor was like throwing a leaf into a raging stream to try and dam it up.
When they lost power they lost rudder control? I don’t know.
just before?
or hours/days before?
If it was just before then nothing could be done with a 100,000 ton vessel in motion.
If it was hours/days before then someone is in trouble.
This was posted on xkcd a few days ago...
Singapore is just the flag. There is a ship owner. This ship was leased. There is a ship leaser, put they have insurance.
I am hoping that when Biden says they will rebuild the bridge he is not saying he will pay for the rebuilt bridge. And then there is the harbor pilot. Normally the captain is responsible for the ship even if its under the control of the harbor pilot. But the harbor pilot may have been the one who is guilty. I don’t think so. But there must be a investigation. They don’t know yet.
In danger, with no room to turn,
Ease her, Stop her, Go Astern.
When the ship hits the span.
alleged power problems.
Would seem cheap now.
🤪😏😁............
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All traffic is being detoured away from the bridge, said the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Well, geez, that's good to know.
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