NEW UPDATES: Baltimore's Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Collision; Up to 20 People Missing
UPDATE, 6:00 AM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
A State of Emergency has been declared in Maryland as the state “attempts to assess and respond to the tragedy,” and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tweeted that he had already spoken to Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott and offered federal support.
Statement from @iamwesmoore on the bridge collapse. pic.twitter.com/N4ow54Jnlh
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 26, 2024
The New York Times is reporting that the owners of the ship that hit the bridge, the Singapore-flagged Dali, “confirmed in an emailed statement that the vessel had hit one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. Eastern. All crew members, including two pilots onboard, were accounted for and there were no injuries on the ship,” and that the owners say they and the vessel’s managers are cooperating with authorities.
A photo from the tragedy at the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
*Double checked, actual photo of cargo ship. #francisscottkeybridge
Awaiting press conference around 7amET…. pic.twitter.com/QVyCnwtZ5h
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) March 26, 2024
Baltimore Fire Department authorities told CNN that it appeared that construction workers were on the bridge at the time it collapsed; that could be what the number of individuals potentially in the water is based on.
Fox News is reporting that local officials are saying that the accident scene isn’t safe for rescue workers due to cargo hanging from the bridge.
A news conference was originally set for 5:45 AM, but has been moved to 6:15 AM Eastern.
Baltimore news station WBAL’s livestream can be found here: https://www.wbaltv.com/nowcast
UPDATE, 4:45 AM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
Kevin Cartwright with the Baltimore Fire Department provided an update to CNN, saying, “We understand that there was up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco River right now, as well as multiple vehicles. We have a mass casualty, multi-agency incident underway.” Dive teams from the BFD and other agencies are in the water searching for those people.
The bridge collapsed on top of the ship. Cartrwright said that the US Coast Guard is “in the process of establishing contact with the vessel” to determine how many injured people are on that ship and more about what type of cargo was on the ship and any mechanical issues that might have occurred before the collision.
After reviewing the live footage (https://t.co/sUaVNq8gFc) of The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, it appears that the cargo ship lost power twice.
I’ve sped up the video for TwitterX limits.@jenvanlaar @TomlinMedia pic.twitter.com/zlHll6glzk
— Brian Hund 🎙 Libertarian since ‘92 (@brianhund) March 26, 2024
Cartwright said that the air temperature at the time of his update was around 30 degrees.
CREDIT: Andrew Doyle
ORIGINAL STORY
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed after a large container ship crashed into one of its supports just before 1:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. An unknown number of vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer went into the Patapsco River as a result of the collapse. As of 3 AM Baltimore time, officials were searching for seven people in the water.
The collapse, which happened almost immediately after the collision, was captured by the bridge’s live cam.
Breaking – A cargo ship has hit the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. It caught fire before sinking and causing multiple vehicles to fall into the water below.
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) March 26, 2024
The live cam footage isn’t extremely clear, but it looks like there could have been an explosion when the ship struck the bridge support.
From the Baltimore Sun:
A spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department said a major rescue operation was underway with all lanes closed and with all traffic being rerouted from the steel bridge that is part of Interstate 695.
“The entire bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River,” said Kevin Cartwright, the director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department.
“We have reason to believe that there were vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer” that went into the water, Cartwright said.
People living near the bridge also caught the tragedy on video.
Additional footage of Key Bridge aftermath pic.twitter.com/lOZFdffOGd
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) March 26, 2024
According to Rawsalerts, the ship is the Singapore-flagged Dali.
🚨#UPDATE: The container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore pic.twitter.com/XehWzd8tgs
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 26, 2024
Baltimore Fire Department’s Cartwright told Fox News, “This is a dire emergency….Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people,” Cartwright said, calling the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
Longer video of collapse of main span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after a cargo ship apparently hit a support column.
It appears there were multiple construction vehicles on the bridge at the time.
(Video playing in 2x) pic.twitter.com/4w0js50cvc
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) March 26, 2024
This is a developing story; we will provide more updates as they become available.