Baltimore residents awoke today to nightmarish scenes on the Patapsco River. The Francis Scott Key Bridge has been a familiar part of the city’s infrastructure since 1977, but now it’s just a half-submerged pile of tangled scrap metal.
So, what happened?
The incident
At 1.28 am EDT the fully-loaded Singaporean container ship Dali struck one of the bridge’s support pillars. Video of the collision shows that the entire bridge collapsed immediately afterward. Part of the bridge smashed down onto the Dali itself, but most of it landed in the river below.
The “continuous truss” engineering of the bridge meant it was supported by the entirety of its structure, which is why the impact on just one pillar brought down the entire bridge in such a dramatic fashion.
Judging from the video it appears the Dali lost power immediately before the collision and the plumes of smoke emitted may indicate the ship’s engines were put in emergency reverse. Reports are that the ship’s crew sent an emergency notification to the Maryland Department of Transportation that a collision was imminent, though it seems this was too late to evacuate the bridge.
Are there any casualties?
The Baltimore City Fire Department believes that at least seven vehicles were on the bridge at the time and fell into the water. Of those passengers, one was recovered from the water without injury and another was taken to hospital in critical condition where they died. Seven further people are believed to be missing and the US Coast Guard is conducting emergency rescue efforts using drones and infrared tech to try and spot any survivors.
There are reports that the Maryland Transportation Authority had “at least” 20 workers on site at the moment of the collapse, though their whereabouts are unknown. The crew of the Dali are also said to be uninjured
If there is a silver lining to this disaster, it’s that it happened late at night when few vehicles were crossing. If the bridge had collapsed during rush hour, deaths may have numbered in the hundreds. Of course, this will be scant consolation to those who’ve lost loved ones. Even though there are no official announcements as yet, vehicles have been identified on the riverbed so we will almost certainly soon receive reports of more deaths.
The official response
A state of emergency has been declared by Baltimore Mayor Brandan Scott, who has been present at the scene since the early hours. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has also confirmed he’s liaised with Scott Maryland Governor Wes Moore about providing emergency federal support in the wake of the incident. President Biden has also been briefed, but has made no official statement as of writing.
There will inevitably be questions about the safety of gigantic container ships passing closely to bridges of this type. Expect shipping on the East Coast to be affected for weeks due to this incident and Baltimore will now have to reckon with a missing piece of crucial transport infrastructure.
We will update this article as and when we know more.
