Early on Tuesday morning, a cargo ship in Baltimore lost power and crashed into a Francis Scott Key Bridge, demolishing it in a matter of seconds and sending it tumbling into the river in a horrifying collapse.
Following a collision with a container ship, a significant Baltimore bridge collapsed. Before the 984-foot cargo ship, Dali struck a bridge structure at a speed of 8 knots, or roughly 9 mph, and it reported to the authorities that it had lost power and declared a mayday.
The moment the Dali struck support, the Bridge fell into the lake on Tuesday at 1:28 a.m. The moment was captured on video.
The tragic incident that occurred on Tuesday wrecked one of the busiest ports in the country and unalive six people in the murky waters below.
A similar accident occurred involving the Dali almost eight years ago. It occurred in July 2016 when it damaged the quay in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium.
Paul Wiedefeld, the transportation secretary for Maryland, stated that when the ship struck the Bridge, the workers there were fixing concrete ducts.
A foreman named James Krutzfeldt stated that at least seven laborers were pouring concrete to patch potholes on the roadway just above the spot where the ship struck.
Brawner Builders executive vice president Jeffrey Pritzker had earlier reported that one individual had survived; however, the identity is concealed.
According to Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath, search and rescue operations for the six individuals who were working on the Bridge when it fell have been going on as a recovery mission.
Considering the water temperature and the time since the ship struck, the Bridge collapsed, which occurred at roughly 1:30 a.m. Gilreath stated, “We do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive.”
A complete search was underway earlier on Tuesday.
Governor of Maryland Wes Moore expressed grief and optimism that the missing individuals could be recovered.
Later, authorities halted the intensive search for survivors. At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Coast Guard announced it was stopping the active search and rescue operation.
After the active search was halted, Moore remarked, “Our heart goes out to the families,”
He added, “I can’t imagine how painful today has been for these families, how painful these hours have been have been for these families.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden promised that Rebuilding the Bridge and providing federal funding will be done while also cautioning that “This is going to take some time,”
Biden added, “The people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them, at every step of the way, till the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”
The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, repeated the president’s vow while speaking in Baltimore. He stated, “This is no ordinary bridge,” He explained, “This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure.”
Though Buttigieg highlighted that supply chains may be impacted, repairing the Bridge and restarting the port will require time and money.
Based on information from the Maryland Port Administration, the eleventh-largest port in the United States, the Port of Baltimore, is the busiest port for automotive imports and exports, handling over 750,000 vehicles in 2023 alone.
The construction workers’ families were seen waiting for word on their loved ones. The wife of Miguel Luna, a 49-year-old man who was engaged in bridge construction, remarked, “They only tell us that we have to wait and that they can’t give us information,”
The woman expressed her grief, stating, “devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know how they have been rescued yet. We are just waiting for the news.”
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