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The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed after a large container ship crashed into one of its supports just before 1:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. An unknown number of vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer went into the Patapsco River as a result of the collapse. As of 3 AM Baltimore time, officials were searching for seven people in the water.
The collapse, which happened almost immediately after the collision, was captured by the bridge’s live cam.
Breaking – A cargo ship has hit the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. It caught fire before sinking and causing multiple vehicles to fall into the water below.
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) March 26, 2024
The live cam footage isn’t extremely clear, but it looks like there could have been an explosion when the ship struck the bridge support.
From the Baltimore Sun:
A spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department said a major rescue operation was underway with all lanes closed and with all traffic being rerouted from the steel bridge that is part of Interstate 695.
“The entire bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River,” said Kevin Cartwright, the director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department.
“We have reason to believe that there were vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer” that went into the water, Cartwright said.
People living near the bridge also caught the tragedy on video.
Additional footage of Key Bridge aftermath pic.twitter.com/lOZFdffOGd
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) March 26, 2024
According to Rawsalerts, the ship is the Singapore-flagged Dali.
🚨#UPDATE: The container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore pic.twitter.com/XehWzd8tgs
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 26, 2024
UPDATE 4:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Baltimore Fire Department’s Cartwright told Fox News, “This is a dire emergency….Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people,” Cartwright said, calling the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
Longer video of collapse of main span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after a cargo ship apparently hit a support column.
It appears there were multiple construction vehicles on the bridge at the time.
(Video playing in 2x) pic.twitter.com/4w0js50cvc
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) March 26, 2024
This is a developing story; we will provide more updates as they become available.
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