Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, critical to shipping on the East Coast, collapsed in the wee hours of the early morning on Tuesday, March 26. Its collapse was precipitated by it being struck by a large container ship transiting the Chesapeake Bay and led to a massive response from first responders in an attempt to find people in the water.
In the footage of the incident that emerged, a huge container ship heads toward one of the bridge’s massive support columns, colliding with it and sending a large portion of the bridge falling into the water mere seconds later. Gigantic plumes of smoke rise in the air as fire rages, with the smoke rising over the scene for minutes afterward. The ship involved was later identified as the 948-foot container ship Dali.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge’s destruction will cause major problems not only for Baltimore and other area residents, transiting it, but for much of the East Coast, as the over one and a half miles long bridge is highly used, particularly by those traveling between Washington, D.C, and New York, along with elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic region.
Further, its destruction will cause major problems for the Port of Baltimore, the ninth-largest in terms of international cargo handled in 2023, when it handled over “52 million tons of international cargo worth over $80 billion last year,” CNN reports. The port is also an important hub of shipping along the East Coast, making its disruption even more of a problem when paired with the bridge’s collapse.
The Baltimore City Fire Department, commenting on the bridge’s destruction, described it as a mass-casualty incident. Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told Reuters, “We received several 911 calls at around 1:30 a.m., that a vessel struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the collapse.” He continued, “This is currently a mass casualty incident and we are searching for seven people who are in the river.”
Further, Mr. Cartwright, commenting on the numerous vehicles that fell from the bridge into the water, and on the ship catching fire after the collision, told the AP, “This is a dire emergency. Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.” In much the same vein, Baltimore Mayor Brendon Scott said on X that emergency units were responding to the disaster “Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway,” he said.
Cartwright added, speaking to CNN, “We are in the midst of managing a mass casualty multi agency incident here.” He continued, “Unfortunately, we understand that there are up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco river as well as multiple vehicles.”
However, attempts to recover them from the water will be difficult, as the temperatures are quite low. He said, speaking to CNN, “This happened at 01:30 a.m. with limited visibility so we are working aggressively, considering the environmental temperatures as well as the water temperatures to try and rescue and perhaps recover individuals.” He added, “It feels like at least about 30 degrees (-1°C) where I am. It could be slightly lower than that. And I’m sure that the water temperature is even colder… And that can pose a concern and risk for our divers.”
He added, “This is a very devastating incident in which these individuals have encountered so our hearts go out to each and every one of them, and we will be working valiantly throughout the early morning to address this.”
Watch the bridge get hit here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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