Part of a 2.57-kilometer-long bridge collapsed in Baltimore, United States, after a cargo ship measuring almost 290 meters long collided with the structure in the early hours of Tuesday (26), closing one of the busiest ports in the world. country.
Data on possible victims is still preliminary. After saying that about 20 people were missing, local authorities said they believe eight people were on the bridge at the time of the accident, which happened while contractors were working at the site, according to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.
According to him, rescue teams are looking for six of them, probably all from the team that repaired holes in the bridge. Two have already been rescued — one was reportedly unharmed and the other was hospitalized in serious condition.
By late Tuesday morning, three cars, a truck and another unspecified vehicle had been identified at the bottom of the river, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. The Coast Guard is searching for survivors with boats and helicopters, and eight dive teams are in the water. At the site of the accident, the river reaches 15 meters deep.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, where the port of Baltimore is located in the east coast state of Maryland.
The Singapore-flagged Dali cargo ship left Baltimore early in the morning bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. The collision occurred around 1:30 am local time (2:30 am Brasília time).
The Dali was chartered by the shipping company Maersk at the time of the incident. “We are horrified by what happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with everyone affected,” the Danish company said.
In a statement, Synergy Marine Group, which operated the ship, said all crew members had been located and none were injured. The cause of the collision has not yet been determined.
Out there
According to the New York Times, an inspection of the Dali last year identified a deficiency related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery” that cited gauges and thermometers. The inspection was carried out on June 27th at the port of San Antonio, Chile, according to the Equasis database.
At a press conference, Maryland Governor Wes Moore stated that the ship lost power after leaving the port and the crew managed to notify authorities, who blocked the flow at the time of the accident. “They are heroes, they saved lives,” he said. According to the politician, the bridge had no structural problems.
In the images, it is possible to see two apparent electrical outages on the vessel, whose lights go out and flash again. Smoke can also be seen coming from the bottom of the ship just before it loses control and collides with one of the bridge pillars, which falls within seconds. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the city to investigate the crash.
“I am aware of and en route to the incident on the Key Bridge. Emergency personnel are on scene and efforts are ongoing,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said on the X. “We would never have imagined seeing the Key Bridge collapse like this. It looked like something out of an action movie’, the politician told journalists.
In a video statement from the White House, President Joe Biden said that the rescue operation is the priority now and that, by all indications, the collision was a “terrible accident.” He also asked Congress to support financial efforts to rebuild the bridge and said he would go to Baltimore as soon as possible, but did not mention a date.
Baltimore’s private and public terminals handled 847,158 automobiles and light trucks in 2023, the largest volume within the US. The port also serves to transport the production of agricultural machinery, sugar, plaster and coal, among other items, according to a Maryland government website.
Closing the site until further notice threatens to interrupt the supply of goods and has the potential to create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the northeast coast, say experts consulted by the Reuters news agency.
Authorities are also looking for alternatives for the thousands of people who crossed the bridge for their daily activities, as all lanes of the I-695 Key Bridge were closed in both directions. According to Wiedefeld, the state’s Secretary of Transportation, approximately 35,000 people used the building every day. The administration has instructed people to use two nearby tunnels.
The collapsed bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, author of the US anthem, and opened in 1977. The construction accident could be the worst of its kind in the US since 2007, when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed in Mississippi River, killing 13 people.