A four-lane bridge in the US state of Maryland has collapsed after being hit by a ship. A large section of the 1.6-mile (2.6 km) long Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the Patapsco River, state authorities have confirmed.
The incident happened at around 1:30 am, according to AP. Clips posted on X (formerly Twitter) show several sections of the bridge going down, with multiple vehicles cascading some 55 metres into the water.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said that all lanes in both directions were closed and traffic is being detoured.
Up 20 people could have fallen into the water as a result of the incident, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright told BBC.
Cartwright confirmed earlier that the bridge had been struck by “a large vessel” and partially collapsed
In a separate comment to AP, the spokesman described the situation as a “developing mass casualty event.” He went on to say it appears that there are “some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge,” which complicates the work of the rescuers, making them operate more cautiously. “This is a dire emergency,” he added.
The vessel that caused the collapse was the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, its management company, Synergy Marine Group, confirmed. The cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the company said, adding that the ship was under the control of two pilots when it hit one of the pillars of the bridge. There were no injuries aboard the Dali, with all crew member accounted for, it added.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in 1977 and serves as the outermost crossing of the Baltimore harbor.
source: RT
