A 2.5 kilometer bridge, located in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed on Tuesday after being hit by a cargo ship. A few seconds before the impact, numerous vehicles were traveling on the structure.
This Tuesday, March 26, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed in the space of a few seconds. According to Matthew West, a Coast Guard petty officer first class in Baltimore who testified in the New York Times, the bridge was hit by a freight ship. Around twenty people are believed to have fallen into the water due to the collapse. Among the victims, workers who worked on the building.
TF1 reports that, according to the American authorities, the temperature of the water in which they fell would not exceed 10°C. “We know there are up to 20 people in the Patapsco River right now, along with several vehicles,” Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore Fire Department told AFP. CNN. The missing are actively searched by divers but the temperature of the water and the lack of visibility make their task difficult. Two people were recovered, but at least 7 people are wanted.
The governor of the State of Maryland declared a state of emergency. According to police chief Richard Worley, who held a press briefing, there is no reason to believe that the destruction of the bridge was linked to a terrorist or intentional act.
Impressive images
It appears that the vessel in question hit one of the bridge’s pillars. The extent of the damage remains to be determined, but the images are spectacular. A portion of the metal structure would have fallen into the water. This bridge was built in 1977, is 2.5 kilometers long and has four lanes of traffic.
In the images below, we can clearly identify the cargo ship colliding with the bridge. Many vehicles pass over the bridge a few seconds before the impact, their drivers escaped the worst.
Looks like the ship lost power twice before impact. Note the lights going out each time. If this power loss was complete, many of the ship’s systems would certainly have been affected. pic.twitter.com/wzmzmeR1vp
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) March 26, 2024
According to the site Marinetraffic, an online platform that tracks the movements of cargo ships around the world, the vessel involved is the Dali, a container ship which had just left Baltimore for the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. This merchant cargo ship would measure 300 meters long and 48 meters wide. Since the incident, all traffic on the waterways has been stopped.