Just before 1:30 a.m. on March 26, Tuesday, a cargo ship, called the DALI, collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The collision caused the bridge to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River, along with people and vehicles on the bridge when it fell. The ship had electrical problems and notified officials that they lost control, “We’re thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge,” the Maryland Governor Wes Moore said. Doing this helped save many lives before the collision happened, though there were still people affected by the incident.
Image from Creative Commons.
At least six construction workers were on the bridge filling potholes when it collapsed; they are still unaccounted for as well as two others that were pulled from the river from the Baltimore City Fire Department. One was not injured and the other was taken to a local trauma center in “severe condition” said Chief James Wallace. Several vehicles fell into the river, one said to be as big as a tractor-trailer.
Search and rescue crews are out and looking for victims and vehicles underwater using infrared and sonar technology. “It’s about those souls, those people we’re trying to find and get out of this water,” Scott said. They have divided the crews into eight teams with a total of about fifty divers searching for the missing people. Though rough conditions search hard with the wind and cold weather, the river they are searching for is about fifty feet deep with strong currents and high tide coming in.
Rescue crews looking for victims of the collapsed bridge.
The ship that hit the Bridge making it fall was a Singaporean container vessel about 984 feet long and 157 feet wide. Witnesses of the incident stated they saw flashing lights and a big cloud of smoke come off the ship right before it made contact with the bridge. However, no crew members on the vessel were harmed.
Image from Creative Commons
The Governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency for the city and state. The White House is also keeping a close eye on the situation. Many different organizations have come together to help the city including Multiple air and marine units that 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.
