Baltimore mayor declares a state of emergency
AP News
The mayor of Baltimore has declared a state of emergency in response to the bridge collapse.
Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, issued an executive order Tuesday morning to deploy and expand emergency resources. The state of emergency will remain in place for 30 days and is subject to renewal or cancellation as conditions warrant.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is launching a team to investigate the bridge collapse and will hold a media briefing later Tuesday.
Maryland state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, who is from the area, says the bridge plays a vital role in not only transportation, but also commerce.
“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,” said Salling, a Republican.
Highway signs as far south as Virginia are warning drivers of delays associated with the closure of the bridge.
It said all crew members, including the two pilots on board, were accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.
As the sun rose Tuesday, jagged remnants of the bridge were illuminated jutting up from the waters surface. The on-ramp ended abruptly where the span once began.
Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel, which was carrying its customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were on board.
The collapse caused Maersk share at the Nasdaq Copenhagen to plummet 2% in early Tuesday trading.
From 1960 to 2015, there have been 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.
Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States. Here’s a few notable ones:
BIG BAYOU CANOT: 47 DEAD
Sept. 22, 1993: Barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard reached the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103 people.
SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE: 35 DEAD
May 9, 1980: The 609-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating through the narrow, winding shipping channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall knocked out the ship’s radar. The ship sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.
EADS BRIDGE: 50 INJURED
April 14, 1998: The Anne Holly tow traveling through the St. Louis Harbor rammed into the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel below the bridge. Fifty people suffered minor injuries.
▶ Read more: A list of major bridge collapses caused by ship or barge collisions
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she reached out to Moore and offered any assistance New York can provide. Hochul said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that New York’s harbor “stands ready to assist, any way we can continue the flow of commerce so it’s not disrupted.”
The President has been briefed on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the ongoing search and rescue efforts. He will continue to receive updates from his team throughout the day.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is also on site at the bridge, per the governor’s spokesman.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the FBI was on scene, but terrorism is not suspected. “It’s an open investigation but there’s nothing that points to that in any direction,” he said.
Wiedefeld said there was a crew working on the bridge doing “concrete deck repair” at the time of the collapse. He said officials are investigating how many workers were there.
In the meantime, vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice, but the port is still open for trucks, he said.
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (WJLA via AP)
In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.
Synergy Marine Group — which manages the ship called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while in control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help navigate vessels safely into ports. The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.
It said all crew members, including the pilots, were accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.
Correction: This post has been corrected to show that Grace Ocean Private owns the ship, not Synergy Marine Group.
7:18 AM EDT
The temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.
He called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event,” though he didn’t know at the time how many people were affected.
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace says two people were pulled from the water after the bridge collapse.
He said one was in serious condition and the other was not seriously injured.
Wallace said authorities “may be looking for upwards of seven people” but he said that number could change.
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. posted that emergency personnel were responding and rescue efforts were underway.
“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.
But Cartwright also said it’s too early to know how many people were affected. He called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that along with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.
A vessel by that name was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its final destination, according to Marine Traffic and Vessel Finder.
The ship was flying under a Singapore flag, WTOP radio station reported, citing Petty Officer Matthew West from the Coast Guard in Baltimore.
