The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed early Tuesday morning after a cargo ship collided with and took out a assist column. The Key Bridge is a significant commuter route carrying the Baltimore Beltway I-695 over the Patapsco River on the southern finish of the Baltimore Harbor. There are not any official experiences on casualties as of this writing. There are unconfirmed experiences of a number of automobiles within the water in addition to development employees unaccounted for. As of simply earlier than 5 a.m. EDT, rescue crews haven’t pulled anybody out of the water, nonetheless the crew on the ship is reported to be secure and all accounted for.
Key Bridge, photograph by way of the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Display photographs from a port digital camera livestream present the second of influence and aftermath of the collapse:
Images and movies posted early Tuesday present what seems to be huge injury. A replica of a safety digital camera video time stamped 1:28 a.m. EDT on March 26 exhibits a ship hitting a assist column, collapsing in simply seconds the central half with the metal arch-shaped truss. The Key Bridge was reported to have been the third longest steady truss bridge on the earth.
BREAKING NEWS
Maryland Keybridge collapsed after cargo ship collides with assist beam pic.twitter.com/9IgvJyi46Y— Hayward Jablomi (@HaywerdJablomi) March 26, 2024
One other view from copied video (language warning):
— Joe Bradley (@JoeBradleyEMT92) March 26, 2024
Aftermath:
https://twitter.com/thelandofvince/standing/1772506241580814466
Photograph:
A container ship has struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore. A part of the bridge has collapsed. A number of hearth and police boats are on the way in which. pic.twitter.com/D6o04271k7
— Andrew Doyle (@doyle0213) March 26, 2024
Longer video clip:
Here’s a longer edit of the ship colliding with the Key Bridge. Please pray for these on the bridge, together with a development crew, and on the ship, the rescue employees, the restore crews to return, in addition to all their family members. pic.twitter.com/dztTGdODk7
— Phil Stamper (@TrustInPhil) March 26, 2024
Dwell video of restoration efforts (scroll again to 1:25 a.m. to see the ship approaching the bridge and 1:28 a.m. to see the collision and collapse):
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D)) posted he’s heading to the accident scene, “I’m conscious of and en path to the incident on the Key Bridge. I’ve been in touch with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJr, and @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway.”
I am conscious of and en path to the incident on the Key Bridge. I’ve been in touch with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJr, and @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway.
— Brandon M. Scott (@MayorBMScott) March 26, 2024
Unbiased reporter Dave Statter experiences the the ship was a cargo ship from Singapore, “Key Bridge Replace 4: Right here is extra on the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge by way of Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore.”
Key Bridge Replace 4: Right here is extra on the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge by way of Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore. https://t.co/ZD6mCpsLLf https://t.co/ecPk09QIBw pic.twitter.com/c9bDbUD7PU
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) March 26, 2024
Washington Publish map of the incident:
The place is the Francis Scott Key Bridge that has collapsed in Baltimore after a ship collided with it.https://t.co/O0W6q9WssH pic.twitter.com/sb0xcvSjmD
— Publish Graphics (@PostGraphics) March 26, 2024
Background on the Key Bridge by way of the Maryland Transportation Authority:
This outer crossing of the Baltimore Harbor opened in March 1977 as the ultimate hyperlink in I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway). The 1.6 mile Key Bridge crosses over the Patapsco River the place Francis Scott Key was impressed to write down the phrases of the Star Spangled Banner. This facility additionally contains the Curtis Creek Drawbridge. Together with the bridge and method roadways, the power is roughly 10.9 miles in size.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in March 1977 and is known as for the writer of the Star Spangled Banner. The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore’s Harbor. Upon completion, the bridge construction and its approaches grew to become the ultimate hyperlinks in Interstate 695 (the Baltimore Beltway).
By the early Nineteen Sixties, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (Interstate 895), the primary crossing of Baltimore’s Harbor, had reached its site visitors capability, and motorists encountered heavy congestion and delays nearly each day throughout rush hours. The State Roads Fee, predecessor of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), concluded there was a necessity for a second harbor crossing and commenced planning a single-tube tunnel underneath the Patapsco River, downstream from the Harbor Tunnel. The proposed web site was between Hawkins Level and Sollers Level. Plans additionally have been underway for a drawbridge over Curtis Creek to attach Hawkins Level to Sollers Level.
Contractors took borings of the harbor backside within the spring of 1969. Bids for development of the proposed tunnel have been opened on July 30, 1970, however value proposals have been considerably greater than the engineering estimates. Officers drafted different plans, together with the idea of a four-lane bridge.
The bridge, at an estimated value of $110 million, represented the perfect different as a result of it allowed for extra site visitors lanes and carried decrease working and upkeep prices than a tunnel. As well as, a bridge would offer a route throughout the Baltimore Harbor for automobiles transporting hazardous supplies (these supplies are prohibited from each the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry [Interstate 95] tunnels).
Development on the Francis Scott Key Bridge started in 1972, and the bridge opened to site visitors on March 23, 1977. Together with its connecting approaches, the bridge mission is 10.9 miles in size. Different constructions alongside the thruway embrace a .64-mile dual-span drawbridge over Curtis Creek and two .74-mile parallel bridge constructions that carry site visitors over Bear Creek, close to Bethlehem Metal’s Sparrows Level plant.
The Key Bridge is positioned in an space wealthy with American historical past. Students consider the span crosses inside 100 yards of the positioning the place Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the night of Sept. 12, 1814. That battle impressed Key to write down the phrases of the Star Spangled Banner.
Situated simply southeast of the bridge are the ruins of Fort Carroll, a 3.4-acre man-made island. The construction was designed by then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Development of the fort started in 1848, underneath the supervision of Brevet-Colonel Lee, U.S. Military Corps of Engineers. Fort Carroll was necessary for the protection of Baltimore — earlier than the fort was created, the one navy defensive construction between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay was Fort McHenry.
The federal government deserted the fort as a navy publish in 1920, and the island was declared extra property in 1923. Nevertheless, the Battle Division took no quick steps to promote the land. In Could 1958, a Baltimore lawyer bought the island for $10,000, however improvement plans by no means materialized. The fort now could be abandoned.
Together with the Fort McHenry and Baltimore Harbor Tunnels, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a part of a community of Baltimore Harbor crossings that gives handy and secure transportation for native and interstate site visitors.
UPDATE 4:45 a.m. EDT: Reuters experiences all ship’s crew secure and accounted for (excerpt):
Ship monitoring knowledge from LSEG exhibits a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, on the location alongside the Key Bridge the place the accident occurred. The registered proprietor of the ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the supervisor is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG knowledge present.
Synergy Marine Corp stated {that a} Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali” collided with one of many pillars of the bridge and that each one its crew members, together with the 2 pilots have been accounted for and there have been no experiences of any accidents.
The AP reported rescuers are trying to find not less than seven individuals (excerpt):
“It is a dire emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Hearth Division, informed The Related Press. “Our focus proper now could be making an attempt to rescue and get better these individuals.”
He added that some cargo seemed to be dangling from the bridge.
Emergency responders have been trying to find not less than seven individuals believed to be within the water, Cartwright stated, although he stated it’s too early to understand how many individuals have been affected. He referred to as the collapse a “creating mass casualty occasion.”
He stated businesses obtained 911 calls round 1:30 a.m. reporting {that a} ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge. A number of automobiles have been on the bridge on the time, together with one the dimensions of a tractor-trailer truck.
The Baltimore Solar reported climate circumstances on the web site of the incident as of 4 a.m. (excerpt):
The Nationwide Knowledge Buoy Heart reported water temperatures in that space of the Patapsco have been about 49 levels at 4 a.m. The air temperature was 41 and winds have been gentle.
The Baltimore Banner reported no rescues had been made as of simply earlier than 5 a.m. (excerpt):
“It’s believed that seven people could also be within the Patapsco River that we’re actively making an attempt to find utilizing dive rescue crew,” Cartwright stated.
…Cartwright stated officers had obtained experiences {that a} development crew along with a number of automobiles have been on the bridge on the time of the collapse, however couldn’t affirm that data but. He stated nobody had been rescued from the waters as of simply earlier than 5 a.m., and that visibility within the water resulting from silt was “poor to none.”