Baltimore bridge collapses after Singapore-flagged ship collision, 6 missing
- Rescuers pulled out 2 survivors and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after the Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water
- US President Joe Biden called the collapse a ‘terrible accident’ and pledged to get the major East Coast port up and running as soon as possible
A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the US port of Baltimore in darkness early on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.
Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom remains hospitalised, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.
“The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a briefing, and there was no credible evidence of terrorism.
Eight people were on the bridge at the time of the collision and six remain unaccounted for, the state’s transport secretary said hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.
US President Joe Biden called the collapse a “terrible accident” and pledged to get the major East Coast port up and running as soon as possible.
Biden also said the Francis Scott Key Bridge would be rebuilt as soon as possible but admitted it would “take some time”. He said he would send “all the federal resources they need” to handle the incident.
“I’m directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said in a brief address from the White House.
The US Coast Guard reported the collapse at 1:27am and it deployed crews for an active search and rescue mission after the Singapore-flagged container ship forced the trellis-like bridge up into a mangled mass of metal.
Work crews had been repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapse and sonar detected vehicles under the water, which was about 50ft deep at that point, said Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Secretary of Transportation.
The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Moore said. He said the vessel’s crew notified authorities of a power issue on board before the crash.
Jayme Krause was in the midst of a night shift at her workplace on shore when packages in front of her shook violently at around 2am. A colleague told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran out to look.
“I went over there, and sure as anything, it was gone, the whole bridge was just like, there was nothing there,” she said. “It was a shocking sight to see.”
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The ship “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified US intelligence report.
Traffic was suspended at the Port of Baltimore until further notice, Maryland transport authorities said. It is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.
The ship was identified by LSEG ship tracking data as a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali. The registered owner of the ship is Grace Ocean and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG data show.
Synergy Marine Corp said the Dali collided with one of the pillars of the bridge and that all its crew members, including the two pilots, had been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.
We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore and our thoughts are with all of those affected
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said it was in contact with the US coastguard and the management company of the ship.
It said the ship lost propulsion and was unable to maintain the desired heading, resulting in the collision with the bridge.
“As the flag state, MPA will provide full cooperation to the US Coastguard in its investigations,” it said in a statement. “MPA will also be investigating the incident.”
The Dali, which was en route to Columbo, Sri Lanka, was chartered by shipping company Maersk at the time of the incident, the Danish company said in a statement.
“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore and our thoughts are with all of those affected,” Maersk said.
Reuters could not immediately reach Grace Ocean for comment.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene of twisted metal shooting into the sky. “It was something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you’d see,” he said.
Kevin Cartwright, the spokesman for Baltimore City Fire Department, earlier told Reuters that as many as 20 people could be in the river along with cars and possibly an articulated lorry.
“This is a mass-casualty, multi-agency event,” he said. “This operation is going to extend for many days.”
A live video posted on YouTube showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness. The headlights of vehicles could be seen on the bridge as it crashed into the water and the ship caught fire.
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The closure of one of the US East Coast’s busiest ports threatens to disrupt supplies of goods from cars to coal and other commodities such as sugar. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Northeastern seaboard, experts say. The port handles the most car imports and is among the largest for coal exports.
The Francis Scott Key bridge was the main thoroughfare for drivers between New York and Washington who sought to avoid downtown Baltimore. It was one of three ways to cross the Baltimore Harbour, with a traffic volume of 31,000 cars per day or 11.3 million vehicles a year.
The bridge, built in 1977, was named after Francis Scott Key, the poet who wrote the lyrics to the US national anthem Star Spangled Banner.
Tuesday’s disaster may be the worst US bridge collapse since 2007 when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) in Baltimore said on X its staff were at the scene.
The Dali was previously involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium in 2016.
The Antwerp port authorities said the Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016 as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.
The port authority could give no details about the cause of the accident, but said the ship had remained at the dock for repairs for some time after the incident.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
