At 1:27 a.m., the bridge, which crosses the Patapsco River, fell piece by piece, all in a row, after the container ship issued a "mayday" while traveling at 9 mph. Reports indicate that the vessel lost power before colliding with a section of the bridge's support columns, bringing basically the entire thing down onto the ship and into the river.
"As the vessel struck the bridge in the middle of the night, it caused a din that could be heard ashore and immediately toppled an essential mid-Atlantic thoroughfare into the frigid waters," the Baltimore Sun reported.
"Several cars were knocked into the Patapsco River and as of Tuesday around 11 a.m., authorities were searching for six construction workers who had been repairing potholes on the bridge. Two others were rescued – one who was briefly hospitalized and another who declined to go to a hospital. Extensive rescue efforts were ongoing."
Following the incident, states of emergency have been declared by both Mayor Brandon Scott and Gov. Wes Moore.
(Related: Speaking of Baltimore, did you know that 95 percent of public school students in the entire state of Maryland lack proficiency in basic mathematics?)
Vehicles detected in water hours before collision?
Prior to the collision, the container ship's crew notified authorities that a power outage had occurred aboard the vessel. This "mayday" warning allowed the Maryland Transportation Authority Police on the highway above to stop many cars from driving onto the bridge just moments before the catastrophe.
"These people are heroes," commented Gov. Moore at a morning news conference. "They saved lives last night."
As of this time, there is no indication that the collision was a terrorist attack, at least according to official sources.
Gov. Moore promised the world that the bridge will be rebuilt, but that it is too early to announce how much it will cost or how long it will take.
President Biden also gave an address indicating that the federal government, meaning United States taxpayers, will pay for a new bridge.
"I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden said. "This is going to take some time, but the people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with it every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt."
Strangely, just a few hours before the collision, Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace said that local authorities had detected the presence of vehicles in the water using sonar technology. Water in that particular area is around 50 feet deep.
A Coast Guard briefing report states, concerning the vessel losing power, that "a harbor pilot and assistant were onboard and reported power issues, multiple alarms on the bridge, and loss of propulsion prior to the incident."
"This is a tragedy that you could never imagine ... It looked like something out of an action movie," added Mayor Scott at a news conference.
The cargo ship in question, called Dali, bore a Singapore flag, which depicts an eclipse not unlike the solar eclipse that will cross the United States on April 8. Its pilot will now undergo drug and alcohol testing as part of an investigation.
The Key Bridge was a substantial one, spanning 1.6 miles in length and marking a key part of Interstate 695. The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023, or about 34,000 vehicles per day.
More related news about disasters across America can be found at Chaos.news.
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1 year ago
I haven't seen a tug anywhere in the two videos I've seen. Surely a ship of that size is accompanied by a tug or two when manoeuvring in a harbour. Were there warning blasts on its horn?
1 year ago
No mystery. As they say, "Sh!t Happens" like unexpected mechanical failures and control system breakdowns. Consider sensible probabilities and plausabilities and don't always kneejerk jump to speculative conspiracy theories all the time. There have been dozens of whacky internet causal explantions and when thorough investigations finally reveal the cause, will anybody remember the misinformation all too easily accepted asfact from today? Probably not.
1 year ago
The Baltimore bridge "accident" was a carefully planned retaliation by Russia for the Moscow concert slaughter. This operation has Putin's signature all over it. This is "Putin's Perfection." Watch the video. Carefully planned, perfectly orchestrated, meticulously delivered with every second of the operation. This bridge demolition is a painful reminder of what happens when you screw with Russia. FAFO. (Putin is as close to a "God on Earth" as any human being will ever be.) All Hail Putin! Never dare fight Mother Russia.
1 year ago
Looking at the map there are other roads to the port, sure there will be more traffic on the other roads. It should not take long to demo the bridge get the span open. I been a sailor all my life boats hit things. Engines brake down electric motors burn out. If the tugs followed the ship they could have helped keep the ship in the channel. No one is talking about the wind and current at the time.
1 year ago
Another major distraction, regardless of the facts and evidence the truth will NEVER be told, meanwhile while the sheeple are focused on the bridge incident the Marxists will continue robbing the nation of ever more Freedom and Liberty!!!
1 year ago
The bridge was hit by a ship in 1980 at about the same speed but little damage. Maybe 47 plus years of age had a bit to do with the damaged that occurred this time around. It cost around 110 million to build in 5 years, sure going to be interesting to see the cost and time nowadays, especially with godvernment involved! Here comes another millionaire or three show!
1 year ago
Billionaire Agalarov, the owner of burned Russian concert venue Crocus, is a good friend of billionaire Trump who has a special place in his heart for "rat-infested mess" Baltimore. Is it possible that Agalarov unleashed his anger (aka paid the money) to smack Baltimore back? Billions can make wonders.