"A mass casualty event": Entire Baltimore bridge collapses due to ship strike
Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, has crumbled after being struck by a cargo ship passing under it, and authorities fear several people may have died in the collapse.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Baltimore Fire Department spoke to the media on Tuesday, calling it “a mass casualty event.”
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore confirmed that the ship was Singapore-registered and had 22 crew members on board at the time of the incident.
“The [Authority] is in contact with the US Coast Guard and the ship management company to provide the necessary assistance,” officials wrote.
UPDATE: The Baltimore Fire Chief says two people were pulled from the water, one in serious condition, after a bridge collapsed. Here’s the video of the bridge collapsing after a container ship rammed into it. pic.twitter.com/kRybfiBX3Q
— News10NBC (@news10nbc) March 26, 2024
Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld spoke to the media in Baltimore on Tuesday morning, noting that the US Coast Guard was looking for at least seven missing people. He shared that the number of cars falling into the Patapsco River below was unknown.
“We know there were individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse, working on the bridge, contracted for us,” he added, according to a WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore video.
Photos and videos of the tragic incident are circulating on social media.
Close up photos of the Key bridge collapse, taken by Baltimore City Fire Rescue 1 as search and rescue operations continue. pic.twitter.com/JkFvaFrYGc
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) March 26, 2024
Traffic on the bridge has been suspended, and drivers are being rerouted.
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