A huge bridge collapsed and fell into the river after being hit by a container ship in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Baltimore City Fire Department officials from the scene said that at least 20 people and many cars fell into the river. Rescue operations are underway. So far, two people have been rescued alive, one of whom is in critical condition. The governor of the state declared a state of emergency in this accident. Meanwhile, the owner of the ship said that none of the ship’s crew was injured in the incident. The Baltimore City Fire Department declared the incident a “mass casualty event,” meaning multiple casualties are expected.
They also said that when a cargo ship hit the support column of the bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore City at 1:30 p.m. local time, the entire bridge collapsed and fell into the river. A live video of the crash was posted on YouTube. In which, after a ship struck the columns of the bridge, a large portion of its spans collapsed into the Patapsco River below.
BBC correspondent Simon Jones says that only the US authorities declare it a ‘Mass Casualty Event’ in the event of a very large-scale accident. As a result, this is also an ‘extremely serious’ incident, in which there is a risk of huge loss of life.
Rescue operation:
Immediately after the incident, several agencies simultaneously embarked on a very large-scale rescue operation. There are reports of many casualties. This bridge over the Patapsco River is called the ‘Francis Scott Key Bridge’. This very important bridge in Baltimore was three kilometers long. This bridge was part of the ‘695 Orbital Highway’ or National Highway that surrounds the city of Baltimore.
The ship that crashed into the bridge was a Singaporean-flagged container ship named ‘Dali’. The 300-meter-long ship was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, from Port Bridge in Baltimore.
The Port of Baltimore is close to the collapsed bridge and is America’s largest port for specialized cargo. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, in the state where Baltimore is located, declared a state of emergency in Maryland in view of the incident. He said, “We are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal government resources with the support of the Biden administration.”
Shortly before this announcement, representatives of the US investigative agency FBI arrived at the scene and started the investigation.
that in addition to the FBI, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have also arrived there and are assisting local authorities in the investigation. However, the FBI has said that there is no connection between this incident in Baltimore and terrorism.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also said in a statement that he had spoken with Maryland Governor Wes Moore and that his department was cooperating with the rescue effort.
The cold water of the river
Meanwhile, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said the temperature in the Baltimore Harbor area at the time was 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius).
The divers are now conducting a search and rescue operation inside the river after descending into the freezing cold water. Temperatures in the Baltimore Harbor area rose slightly to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) a couple of hours after the incident.
However, the BBC quoted the British Department of Health as saying that when a person’s body temperature drops below 35 degrees Celsius, hypothermia can begin. As a result, it is feared that many people may die of hypothermia after exposure to very cold water.
Meanwhile, when the bridge collapsed, A very large tractor-trailer was traveling over it at the time, the Baltimore City Fire Department told CBS News.
They also say that a large amount of jalani diesel was also seen floating in the river near where the ship hit the bridge pillar.
The divers of the ‘Dive and Rescue’ team have now reached the spot and started searching for the drowned people. At least 20 people are believed to have fallen into the river, but the number could be higher.
What Shipowners Say:
Meanwhile, Synergy Marine Group, the owner of the cargo ship, confirmed the news that their ship hit the support column of the bridge. The shipping company said in a statement that the Singapore flag and cargo ship ‘Dally’ hit a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The statement also said that although the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, Dali’s Incident Response Team has been deployed.
They also said that no one among the ship’s crew or sailors was injured in the incident. The two captains on board the Dali, along with the rest of the ship’s crew, have been located and are safe, the shipping company said.
