- The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning.
- A livestream captured the moment the ship struck one of the bridge's support beams.
- Authorities called it a “mass casualty incident” and said 20 people went into the water.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed Tuesday morning after colliding with a large cargo ship.
video of the incident It was posted on X (formerly Twitter) early Tuesday morning. Video showed the large vessel colliding with one of the bridge's support beams. Smoke could be seen rising from the ship before the bridge began to collapse.
“Severe Baltimore Traffic Alert: Avoid the Southeast Corridor of I-695. The I-695 Key Bridge collapses due to vessel strike,” the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a statement. ×post Tuesday morning.
“At 1:35 a.m., the Baltimore Police Department was alerted to a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that had collapsed and workers may be in the water,” a representative for the Baltimore Police Department told ABC News. There was,” he said.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Early Tuesday morning.
Kevin Cartwright, director of public affairs for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that at least seven people are believed to be in the water.
A later estimate from the Baltimore Fire Department put the number at more than 20.
“Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people,” Cartwright told The Associated Press, adding that the situation was “becoming mass casualty.” added.
BI also watched a YouTube livestream of the bridge, which showed a large ship colliding with the bridge at around 1:28 a.m. local time.
Livestream footage from around 3 a.m. local time showed the bridge structure partially submerged in the harbour, with several sections broken.
Structural engineer Ian Firth told the BBC that the large ship would have smashed into the bridge's supporting pillars, which were supported by thousands of tonnes of force.
“This support is a very, relatively, flimsy structure at first glance, a kind of trestle structure with individual legs,” he told the outlet. “So the bridge simply collapsed as a result of this very large impact force.”
Barbara Rossi, an engineering professor at the University of Oxford, told BI: “According to information I've seen online, the bridge suffered significant impact forces on one of its support structures.”
“The force of impact must have been immense,” she says.
BI also viewed vessel tracking maps for the area on vessel monitoring site VesselFinder.com. At 2:50 a.m. local time, the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali was spotted stationary under the bridge.
Dali is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean. TradeWinds confirmed in a statement Tuesday morning that its vessel had struck one of the bridge's pillars.
“The safety of all crew members, including the two pilots, has been confirmed, and there are no reports of injuries. There was no pollution,” the company said in a statement.
According to Grace Ocean, the ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka, when the accident occurred.
This was announced by a spokesperson for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). baltimore sun The 948-foot Dali crashed into the bridge.
“The USCG has deployed three response vessels and contamination responders are underway,” Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew West told NBC News.
Emergency services teams, including divers and at least two helicopters, responded to the scene an hour and a half after the bridge collapse, according to Baltimore County police scanners.
It is unclear whether vehicles were traveling along the bridge during the collapse. Representatives for the Maryland Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The ship's charterer, Maersk, confirmed that the ship is operated by shipping company Synergy Group. A Maersk spokesperson told BI in a statement that the company was “horrified” by the incident, adding that there were no Maersk employees on board.
“We are closely monitoring the investigation conducted by the authorities and Synergy,” it added.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said: ×post Officials said they are “closely monitoring the ongoing situation at Key Bridge.”
“Our prayers are with all those affected,” Olszewski wrote.
According to MDTA, the Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in March 1977 as the final link on the Baltimore Beltway.
It cost $60.3 million to build and is 17.9 miles long, according to MDTA.
