Live updates: Major bridge in Baltimore collapses after being hit by a ship | NPR
By: Rachel Treisman (NPR)
Tessylo lives in Baltimore. My anxiety about her will go away when she shows up
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Published March 26, 2024 at 6:21 AM EDT 
Part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning after a ship crashed into it, sending cars and people into the water in what authorities are calling a "developing mass casualty event." Here's what we're following:
- Upwards of seven people are in the river, said Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. Rescue workers have retrieved from the water two so far — one very seriously injured.
- Wallace said that sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water, but did not specify how many.
- Authorities say the search and rescue mission, complicated by rising tides, will continue until divers determine they have reached the "non-survivability point."
- The bridge was hit by a 948-foot container ship, the Dali, flying under the Singaporean flag and just leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka.
- The 1.6-mile bridge — named after the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner" — is part of I-695, an arterial of Interstate 95, a major highway running north-south along the Eastern seaboard.
Maryland's governor has declared a state of emergency
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 8:18 AM EDT
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency over the bridge collapse, he announced on the platform X early Tuesday.
"We are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration," he wrote.
Moore said his office is in communication with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and will remain in close contact with the various local, state and federal entities "that are carrying out rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy."
The Federal Aviation Administration announced flight restrictions around the area of the bridge on Tuesday morning, with a radius of five nautical miles and up to 2,000 feet above mean sea level.
"Do not interfere with rescue operations," it wrote on X. "If you fly, emergency response operations cannot."
Sun rises to show bridge wreckage is strewn across the river
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By Bill Chappell
Posted March 26, 2024 at 8:05 AM EDT
Images from the scene Tuesday morning along the interstate's path on land show segments of the bridge leading up from the highway and jutting into the open sky. A central portion of the bridge was snapped off at the points on either side where steel support beams once spanned the waterway.
Aerial photos show those beams are now part of a tangle of metal stretching across the water — and heaped onto the container ship's prow.
Baltimore's mayor says the focus should be on the people, not the bridge
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 8:00 AM EDT
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the bridge collapse an "unthinkable tragedy," comparing it to something out of an action movie.
At Tuesday morning's press conference, he urged people to pray for everyone impacted, from the people "we have to try to find and save" to family members and first responders.
"We're going to continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything that we can to get us to the other side of this tragedy," he said.
When asked about plans for rebuilding the Key Bridge, Scott said that's not the priority right now.
"There will be time to discuss the bridge and how to get the bridge back up," he said. "But right now there are people in the water, and that's the only thing we should be worried about."
Darkness, tides and cold temperatures complicate the search and rescue mission
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 7:46 AM EDT
Authorities said at sunrise Tuesday that a search and rescue mission will continue for at least the next eight to 12 hours.
But there are some complicating factors, as Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace explained.
"We're battling darkness," he said before 7 a.m. "It's quite possible we may have somebody there that we've not seen yet."
Even in daylight, he said the water of the Patapsco River is "current-influenced," and the incoming tide adds an additional challenge.
"We can certainly dive in these conditions, but we have to take a lot of factors into play," he said, including that people may have been in the water for a significant time.
The water temperature in the area is 48.2 degrees just before 8 a.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That's slightly warmer than the current air temperature of almost 42 degrees.
The Weather Channel forecasts a high of 58 degrees in Baltimore today, with partly cloudy skies in the morning to become overcast in the afternoon. The National Weather Service has a coastal flood advisory in place for the Baltimore area until 5 p.m., warning of "tides two and a half to three feet above normal."
The sun will set at 7:25 p.m.
Wallace stressed there is no set end time for the search and rescue mission yet.
"We're going to rely on the experts, which are our dive masters that are here, our dive team, to tell us when they believe we've reached that non-survivability point," he said.
Authorities are in touch with the ship and investigating a possible fuel spill
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 7:35 AM EDT
Authorities also spoke at the briefing about the Dali, the ship responsible for the collision and collapse.
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said search and rescue crews must examine the ship's deck but need to complete a damage assessment before they can board.
He said the ship's crew remains on board and has been communicating with authorities via the Coast Guard. The rescue operation has not interacted directly with the pilot, he added.
It is not known whether any crew members are among those in the water.
Authorities from multiple agencies are also working to determine whether there is an active fuel spill from the vessel, now that the sun is up. Wallace said there have been reported diesel odors, but no confirmation yet.
While the exact details of the collision remain unclear, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at the briefing that law enforcement's early investigations show "absolutely no indication this was done on purpose."
Two people have been rescued from the water so far
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 7:18 AM EDT
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Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said emergency responders removed two individuals from the water after the bridge collapsed.
Speaking to reporters early Tuesday morning, he said the first 911 calls about the bridge collapsing came around 1:40 a.m., and the first responders on the scene arrived some 10 minutes later.
"Our first unit arrived on scene and reported a complete collapse of the Key Bridge," he recounted. "We were also given information at that time that there were likely multiple people on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that, as a result, multiple people were in the water."
He said responders were able to remove two people from the water. One individual refused service and transport: "Essentially, that person was not injured."
The other was transported to a local trauma center in "very serious condition," Wallace said.
He said authorities don't have information on the ages and genders of those two individuals, or whether they should be included among the seven people in the water that the search and rescue mission is looking for. He said the second patient is injured severely enough that law enforcement has not been able to debrief them.
A reporter asked whether as many as 20 people could be unaccounted for. Wallace said authorities believe the number is at least seven, but didn't rule out the possibility of more.
A search and rescue mission is underway for 'upwards of seven individuals'
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By Rachel Treisman
Posted March 26, 2024 at 7:03 AM EDT
Maryland authorities said at a Tuesday morning briefing that a search-and-rescue mission is underway and will remain active for "some time" once the sun comes up.
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said authorities believe they are looking for "upwards of several individuals," but stressed that the incident involves a "very large footprint" and information is subject to change.
He said state and local law enforcement agencies and first responders are on the scene to search the surface of the Patapsco River, as well as the deck of the ship and underwater.
"Over the next eight to 12 hours you can expect to continue to see our air and maritime assets functioning out on the water and in the air above," he said.
That effort involves various types of sonar, unmanned aerial vehicles and — throughout the night — infrared technology.
Wallace said that sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water, but did not specify how many. It is unclear how many cars were on the bridge when it collapsed shortly before 2 a.m.
A container ship hit a Baltimore bridge, sending parts and people into the water
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By Ayana Archie
Posted March 26, 2024 at 6:29 AM EDT
A part of a Baltimore bridge serving as both an essential highway artery and a hub for shipping along the East Coast collapsed early Tuesday morning after a container ship crashed into it, sending people into the water.
The collision spurred a large search-and-rescue operation, and it was unclear how many people were in the Patapsco River. However, Kevin Cartwright, the Baltimore City Fire Department's director of communications, told NPR that seven people had fallen into the river and were being searched for. He called the collision and collapse a "developing mass casualty event," The Associated Press reported.
Emergency personnel have been dispatched to the scene, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott added.
The ship that collided with the bridge was the Dali, a 948-foot container ship, U.S. Coast Guard public information officer Matthew West told NPR. The Singapore-flagged ship left Baltimore at 1 a.m. and was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to MarineTraffic, a marine data platform.
Traffic was closed in both lanes after the collision and before the collapse, the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.
The bridge is part of I-695, an arterial of Interstate 95, a major route running north-south along the Eastern seaboard of the U.S.
The 1.6-mile long bridge, named for the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner," opened in 1977 and is located about 45 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
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I apologize for the length of this article. I hope they find every one else.
I watched the bridge go into the water after the ship hit and it was a domino effect of the structure failure.
I saw that many times today and it's like many are saying - it seems so surreal, unreal, like something from a movie.
they have several floating cranes in route and one already on site to get the channel open.
2 narrow lanes open now...
while maga is busy blaming everybody and everything for the accident...
Yeah, they need to get the port back open - major loss of jobs right now due to it being closed - just passed a bill for over 60 million dollars I believe for relief for those folks.
maybe create a work program for the incarcerated insurrectionists. issue them masks, swim fins, and hacksaws...
... in addition to their ankle shackles and GPS monitors.
I'm glad you posted this. I wanted to but don't know how to on my laptop.
I used to live off Ft. Smallwood Road, close to the Key Bridge. Have driven across it many times - I'm scared to death of bridges and heights and this one is really high up.
Also saw the Queen Elizabeth II on a friend's boat in the harbor come under the Key Bridge.
What an awesome landmark that is now gone.
Thoughts go out to the families of the missing construction workers.
The area where I lived is called Riviera Beach, it's a peninsula, that's where my family and I grew up since I was about 4 years old. My sister owns the house now.
OMG TG - I just read the intro to your article.
I've been wanting to comment on this situation ever since I got online but never really saw the opportunity and then I was making some comments below and then went back and read your intro.
When I go to work I always turn on the news to catch the traffic and weather and this was, of course, the only thing being reported on this morning.
It's been years since I've even been across the Key bridge, but it used to be pretty regular.
correction - when I'm getting ready for work
I'm very glad you weren't on that bridge. They didn't say much yesterday morning and the way they "broke" the news it sounded like it was near rush hour. Didn't realize until later that it happened about 0124 CDT. And the lives lost were the construction workers fixing potholes.
Just damn glad to see ya, Girl!
I feel terrible for those construction workers. Their families must be devastated.
The man who was sent to Shock Trauma (University of Maryland Hospital) was discharged that same day!
As cold as the water is, anyone found is likely dead.
I don't think that there will be anymore survivors with water temps below 50. I saw he video of when the vessel first hit the bridge, unreal and always a concern for ships in harbors. The captain will lose his papers because of this even if he was asleep, the buck always stops at the captain.
Yes, it's a body recovery operation now.
And the shipping company will likely lose their insurance.
They might not since depending on the ownership they self-insure up to a certain point and thenq insurance takes over. The question I have was a Port Pilot on board since it is a requirement that ships must have a Port Pilot (local) take the ship in and out of the harbors. If it was a Port Pilot that was in command at the time and hit the bridge this is going to get really messy.
I guess they were having power issues in the shipping channel and had alerted the port authority before hitting the bridge. 2 people have been rescued and 6 are missing.
The ship issued a MAYDAY CALL just before it hit the bridge, the ship lost power and they cut the ropes to the tugboats as they were trying to drop anchor if possible, I believe was the scenario.
The traffic on the bridge could have been worse if the MAYDAY call had not gone out so that was one small blessing out of this tragedy.
I heard more news of course, since this happened, and I don't know how long it was before the MAYDAY call went out and the ship struck the bridge, but it did lessen the amount of vehicles that were on the bridge. I heard that there were 22 crew members who were able to get off the ship before it crashed into the bridge.
Some conflicting information, last I heard the crew members were stuck on the boat under the wreckage of the bridge on top of it - not sure how much wreckage has been removed so far.
I doubt the capt will be held responsible, just read that the ship was being controlled by a harbor pilot as Md law requires.
Will have to wait until the investigation is over and what it says to assign any blame.
The video of the hit did raise some questions for me I will say.
There are a million scenarios that will be playing into this, but with a Master and Port Pilot on board, it does not take responsibility away from the Captain. It was stated that she lost power just before hitting the bridge, if she lost power that would generally mean that she lost steerage which would give credibility to how far she was off course when she hit the bridge.
That was one of the questions i had when watching the video , i saw what looked like a lose of power not once but twice in a few second period , like they were trying to reboot things .
like i said have to wait until all investigations are over .
This is going to get messy no matter what the investigation shows, Mark. She is owned by a group out of Hong Kong, flagged in Singapore and leased to another company. Fingers will be pointing in numerous directions since the cost is going to be very high with the repair (rebuilt) of the bridge and of course the loss of life and emergency costs to the city/county/state damage to the ship and cargo.
If she did lose power/steerage why did she was proper maintenance performed and they will go back to 2016 when she hit another bridge in Holland.
I also heard the ship lost power/propulsion twice. I'd assume that included their bow thrusters. it probably stalled by being thrown into full reverse twice. something that big takes 1 mile to turn and 3 to stop. I wonder what the total weight of ship and cargo was... mass x velocity...
agreed
Yes, unfortunately it's not as though a ship of that size and hauling that cargo can stop quickly.
speaking as an ex-boat owner x3, that's probably the hardest thing to teach novice boat operators, they don't have brake pedals...
... and they steer like a cadillac on a hockey rink.
As the bridge collapses at least four vehicles can be seen starting to slide into the water
video
Hayward Jablomi on X: "BREAKING NEWS Maryland Keybridge collapsed after cargo ship collides with support beam https://t.co/9IgvJyi46Y" / X (twitter.com)
That bridge must have had damage already because it took seconds for that thing to fall in the river
Or it got hit in just the right place to cause a catastrophic failure with the rest of the structure, ever play Jenga? Same principle in reverse.
it was considered modern, a century ago...
It opened in 1977 and was considered an engineering marvel then as it was one of longest continuous-truss bridges in the world.
I believe it was rated 6 out of 9 - in fair condition. Not a ringing endorsement, I know.
thanks for all the research. 47 years old then. at any rate, an interesting demonstration of physics.
Yep, mass (M) times velocity (V) equals momentum (P).
They have around 18 months to rebuild and to think a better name than after that despicable racist.
Though I don't know what could survive something like that striking it - fair condition or not
I don't know of anything man made that can stop 200 million tons traveling at 7 knots without sustaining major damage.
I see that - OMG - I can only imagine how fearful those folks were when this happened.
As noted by evilone, at the press conference a little while ago authorities said that the ship lost control and sent out a warning prior to hitting the bridge, which enabled someone to prevent other cars from entering that area of the bridge, thus likely saving lives. I guess my question would be why aren't ships like that able to communicate through loud speakers or whatever to the people that might be on the bridge that they thought they were going to hit the bridge.
That would seem like a useful capability to have.
30 seconds or a minute warning may have allowed the construction crew to drive far enough away from that spot to survive.
I suppose it was good that this happened during the middle of the night, rather than during rush hour. It's terrible, of course, but it could have been so much worse.
Like the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007.13 people died and 147 were injured.
The ship sent a “mayday” distress call before striking the bridge which allowed officials to halt vehicle traffic headed over the bridge.
Coast Guard Rules of the Road for vessel operation on navigable and international seas.
Used to be an Investigating Officer/Licensing OIC for Norfolk with assists to Baltimore. See a lot of ROR's not being followed - some heads are gonna roll - 1:00 a.m. departure times are almost forbidden in large ports without a minimum of two tugs fore/aft alternating on entry/exit routes, required certified/trained/licensed Harbour/Port Pilot.
Obviously no vessel inspection conducted, as required, prior to departure - otherwise, CG Inspecting Officers would/should have found/cited operational issues - 'nuther violation to be charged with, 'specially with the 2016 incident in Holland as mentioned by Kavika as it was also an operational system error.
There is absolutely no way that vessel should have/could have been in that close proximity with the Harbour bridge with a valid Harbour Pilot and assisting operational tugs.
Gonna be interesting.
Other vessels on their way to Baltimore are being rerouted to Norfolk and other East Coast ports. The cargo on the ships that has a final destination of Baltimore will be dropped off at the new port and here comes the problems for the consignees, the Lines will enforce Force Majeure clause and the consignee will be responsible at their cost of getting the container from Norfolk to Baltimore and the export containers will have to be trucked or railed to Norfolk at the shipper cost.
Problem number two. If the carrier declares, ''general average'' in this case from what I can see of the damage on the ship it might not be used at all but if it is this is how it works. It's basically ''share the risk''...
.
As I said earlier in the comments this is just getting started and will be quite the mess before it's all said and done.
When dealing in international transportation the ''Law of the High Seas'' is supreme and is nothing like our domestic laws and requires lawyers with a very fine understanding of this portion of the law. It is controlled by Federal Maritime Commission and the USGC is heavenly involved as is US Customs.
Port Pilots make a hell of a lot of money, really a lot so feel free to sign up but take a look at boarding an inbound ship in rough weather.
Wow, never really thought about the future costs and impact and everything else.
Morning.. watched the bridge come down last night as it was breaking news.. couldn't believe it..
I thought how many vehicles have gone in etc...it is a tragedy some people have lost their lives, but if this had of been peak hour.....
Sounds like they went above and beyond to warn people what was happening and did all they could to try and prevent it...
Amazing two people survived and feel for the families of the lost souls..
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
Unfortunately it is not the first nor will it be the last where a ship hits a bridge..
This was in Tasmania back in 1975 and remember it well..we lost 12 people that day and the ship sunk as well..
Not my photos..
townhall = thumper wack job bullshit.
mentally defective rwnj media.
Notwithstanding my being far away from that tragedy, I was a bit shocked to see it because Baltimore is somewhat of a special place in America for me. It was the very first American city I was ever in when my mother took me there as a tiny infant in a basket to visit relatives, and it was the last American city I was ever in when I attended my son's wedding there a little more than 15 years ago the only time I've left China during the more than 17 years I've been here. It is the home of my son's wife's parents.
It could have been a cradleboard.
Maybe. Although I have a pretty good memory about things that go back to my being pretty young, I can't remember quite THAT far back, but I was told it was a basket.
Little Buzz in a basket. How cute!
little baby buzz
I WAS cute, Tess. Here's the earliest photo I have of myself - note my long blond hair.
Buzz in a basket with a ponytail...LOL
Well, at least I know you have no problem with boys with ponytails.
I guess that at least back then you could have rightly called me a basket case (and since I was so young, perhaps even a briefcase).