Bridge Collapses After Containership Collision
A multi-agency rescue operation is currently underway in Baltimore after a containership crashed into a bridge overnight, collapsing it into the Patapsco River along with several vehicles.
The container vessel ‘Dali’ struck a column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at around 1.30am local time (5.30am UK time) this morning, and up to 20 people are understood to have plunged into the river with their vehicles and at this stage two people have been rescued.
The Singapore-flagged ship had just departed Baltimore port on its journey to Sri Lanka when the catastrophic incident occurred, which has now been described by the Baltimore Fire Department as a ‘mass casualty event’. The bridge is around 1.6 miles long and forms part of the 695 orbital highway that encircles Baltimore.
When colliding with the column, the 300m long vessel was only 45 minutes into its voyage. The incident is the second major containership collision in 10 days, following a vessel colliding with a Turkish dock and destroying its cranes last week.
The ship lost power and steering, but the crew managed to notify authorities of the potential disaster and further traffic entering the bridge was stopped just before the collision, which is believed to have saved many lives.
Evolution are hopeful of a successful rescue operation and our thoughts and prayers go out to those involved.
The below youtube video captures the distressing moment the bridge collapsed.
