Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Being Hit by a Cargo Ship
Cargo ship Dali collides with Baltimore bridge, causing collapse and search for missing crew, raising concerns over vessel's history and bridge's structural integrity.
A major bridge collapsed in the city of Baltimore (USA) after being hit by a heavily loaded container ship. Many questions remain, including how the ship could have lost control. Around 1:30 am (ET), a ship from Singapore named Dali, which carries containers, hit a big bridge support made of concrete in Baltimore. This happened while the ship was leaving Baltimore with a lot of stuff on its way to Sri Lanka. The Dali, is a 948ft (290-meter) cargo ship that can carry up to 10,000 containers. Very quickly, almost the whole bridge fell down and submerged into the water, about 50 feet (15 meters) deep, according to officials. Just before this happened, the ship sent out a Mayday (emergency) call, saying it had lost power. CCTV footage shows the ship going dark twice in the minutes before the crash. A little cloud of smoke can also be seen just before the crash. This made authorities quickly stop traffic on the bridge, which might have saved lives. It's not yet clear what caused the power outage. There's a big search and rescue operation underway which involves divers, boats, planes, and advanced equipment like sonar and infrared gear. Officials say they are searching for at least six members of an eight-person construction crew that was at work repairing potholes on the bridge. Two other people have already been pulled from the water. One was unhurt, but the other was seriously injured and rushed to hospital. There was some confusion over whether any people may still be trapped in cars that may have been on the bridge when it collapsed.
Baltimore's fire chief James Wallace said sonar has found vehicles in the water, but he could not give further details. Maryland's Governor Wes Moore said the investigation was still ongoing, while state Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said officials "do not believe" any people were trapped in cars. The managers of the Dali, Synergy Marine Group, said that none of the crew were injured. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) mentioned that before the crash, the ship used its anchors as part of its emergency plan. This can help to slow down a ship that's out of control.
Officials have said repeatedly that there is "no indication" of terrorism. Some experts suggested the bridge's main support structures may not have been properly protected to withstand a collision by such a large vessel. Toby Mottram, a professor of building structures at the University of Warwick, said, "The big cargo ship carries a lot of weight, especially when it's full of cargo. So, when it crashed, it hit with a lot of force." Authorities have closed the port "until further notice" and traffic is being diverted away from the bridge as the rescue effort continues. Officials have said that finding any survivors is their only priority at the moment. The bridge collapse will have a big effect on the area. Traffic in Baltimore will be disrupted because of the bridge being gone. Also, shipping might be delayed a lot as the broken parts of the ship might be blocking the waterway.
Interestingly, the ship that crashed into the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and people and vehicles to fall into the water, was also involved in another crash when it was leaving the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016. While leaving, the front part of the ship swung around, and its back side scraped against the platform, causing significant damage to the main parts of the ship.
