Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Collision With Ship; Casualties Unknown (image: X/@kittycat942)
A major bridge in Baltimore collapsed on Tuesday morning after it was hit by a container ship. Video footage shows a container ship colliding with the bridge, following which larger part of the bridge fall into the Patapsco river.
It was not clarified about how many vehicles were there on the bridge at the time of collapse. However, the Baltimore City Fire Department confirmed that “at least seven people” were in the water, reported New York Post.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship; a Mass Casualty Incident has been Declared with over a Dozen Cars and many Individuals said to… pic.twitter.com/SsPMU8Mjph
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 26, 2024
The communication chief of Baltimore City Fire Department said that, “we have reason to believe that there were vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer that went into the water”. He called the incident as a “developing mass casualty event”.
The dive and rescue team has arrived at the scene and are trying to locate the individuals in the river. The US Coast Guard and the Maryland Transportation Authority conformed the crash but did not provide further details about the incident.
Taking to X (/formerly twitter), the Maryland Transportation Authority said that traffic is being detoured as all lanes are cancelled due to the crash.
According to maritime data platform Marine Traffic, the Singapore-flagged container vessel named Dali left Baltimore just after 1 am and was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The crash happened at 1:30 am.
The 1.6 mile (2.6 kilometre), four lane bridge lies over the Patapsco River. It was opened in 1977 and carries over 11 million vehicles per year. The bridge is the major part of road network of Baltimore, an industrial city in Washington DC.
