MARYLAND: In a disastrous incident, a portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge located in Baltimore has unexpectedly collapsed after getting struck by a cargo vessel during the wee hours of Tuesday.
As a result of this tragic collapse, the vehicles that were present at the exact moment of the incident fell into the Patapsco river.
The calamity unfolded when a vessel crashed into the bridge at around 1.30 am and the collision led to the ship catching fire, after which, it eventually sank in the river.
A video posted on X appeared to show a sizable chunk of the 2.6 km long bridge disintegrating, as numerous vehicles plunged into the water below.
“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority wrote on X.
Kevin Cartwright, the director of communications for the Baltimore fire department, said that emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to have fallen into the Patapsco river.
He said that agencies were apprised about a vessel travelling outbound from Baltimore that had struck a column on the bridge, causing it to collapse, via 911 calls right after the incident.
He added that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer.
Catwright affirmed that their focus is currently on trying to rescue and recover the affected people.
He admitted that it was too early to find out the number of people affected by it but he did describe the tragic collapse as a “developing mass casualty event”.
Furthermore, Cartwright said that it seemed liked there were “some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge”, creating unsafe and unstable conditions and further complicating the rescue operation. “This is a dire emergency,” he said.
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