In Baltimore on the east coast of the United States, a four-lane road bridge collapsed on Tuesday after a cargo ship had crashed into it. It is not yet clear whether the collapse of the 2.5-kilometer-long structure caused casualties, but according to firefighters, several vehicles and up to 20 people fell into the water. The vessel’s crew is fine.
Local police were notified that a large vessel had crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River around 1:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. CET), Reuters reported. Footage released by Fox Baltimore shows the dark structure of the bridge, which then sinks into the water.
“All lanes are closed in both directions due to the incident at the Key Bridge on I-695. Traffic is being diverted,” Maryland authorities said. According to the mayor of the city, Brandon Scott, rescuers are responding to the scene.
They are looking for at least 20 people who are believed to be in the water, said Baltimore Fire Department Communications Chief Kevin Cartwright. “We know there are up to 20 people and several vehicles in the Patapsco River right now,” Cartwright told CNN.
“We are focused on trying to save and extricate these people,” he added. According to him, it is still too early to know exactly how many people were affected by the accident, but he described the collapse of the bridge as a “mass casualty event”.
Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the crash, including one the size of a tractor-trailer. According to Cartwright, there is “some cargo hanging” on the bridge, creating dangerous and unstable conditions that have rescuers working cautiously. “This is a dire state of emergency,” he said.
The Singaporean-flagged cargo ship Dali crashed into the pier of the bridge. According to MarineTraffic.com, the vessel left Baltimore at 1 a.m. local time and was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. Both pilots and the rest of the crew are fine. Synergy Marine Group, which operates the ship, said it had no reports of injuries on board.
The cause of the collision has not yet been determined, and the vessel’s owners and managers are cooperating with authorities, Synergy Marine Group said.
In July 2016, the ship crashed into the wharf in Antwerp while trying to leave it en route to Bremerhaven. According to vesseltracker.com, she caused significant damage.
Tags: ship crashed bridge Baltimore collapsed moment people fell water
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