Baltimore officials have confirmed that traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore has been halted after a devastating cargo ship crash that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse.
Early Tuesday morning, a transport container ship crashed right into a bridge support column sending cars falling into the Patapsco River. Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing for missing people.
State of Emergency
Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland where Baltimore is located, issued a state of emergency as rescuers are desperate to pull people out of the water.
The bridge is 1.6 miles long and connects the Baltimore Beltway and Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River. A horrifying video shared online shows the moment the ship struck the bridge, causing it to break apart in pieces.
Shipping Suspended
The Port of Baltimore is one of the busiest ports in the entire United States. However, Maryland’s transportation secretary Paul Wiedefeld told reporters that it would be suspending in and out traffic, which speaks to the seriousness of the cargo accident.
“Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice, but the port is still open for truck transactions,” Wiedefeld said.
News Conference
A few hours after the cargo collision that reportedly happened around 1:20 am, the Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace gave a press conference to update residents about the rescue efforts.
Wallace said they were “still very much in an active search and rescue posture,” and they were searching for “upwards of seven individuals.”
Still Missing
Sky News reports that missing people are still being searched for in the water. At 10:30 am, there were still six people suspected to be missing after the bridge collapse.
Rescue efforts by this time had already pulled two people out of the water. The twisted and destroyed bridge metal still hangs over the water, complicating rescue efforts.
Developing Mass Casualty Event
AP cited one official as saying the incident is a “developing mass casualty event.” Rescuers think people still in need of rescue were those working on the bridge when it suddenly collapsed.
Time is not on the rescuers’ side as they must navigate the tricky debris to locate additional survivors.
Indescribable Sound
One Baltimore resident named Jim who lives near the Patapsco River, described being awoken in his house at 1:30 am by the loud noise.
“It was an indescribable sound,” Jim said. “At first I thought it was a sonic boom from the aircraft. I never imagined something like this could happen.”
Vessel Malfunction
An investigation is still ongoing to determine what ultimately caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge, but early reports indicate that the vessel may have lost power.
US Senator Ben Cardin told The Baltimore Sun “What’s been indicated is the vessel lost power, and when you lose power you lose steering. But they’re doing a full investigation.”
Mayday
The Associated Press reported that the cargo ship issued a mayday signal just before hitting the bridge, citing comments from the Mayor.
This mayday came only moments before the crash by the ship’s operators. Thanks to the warning, this mayday signal helped authorities limit vehicle traffic going onto the bridge and managed to stop traffic before the collapse.
Unimaginable Tragedy
At the first news conference concerning the bridge collapse, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott tried to put to words the indescribable feeling people were experiencing. The destruction that the cargo ship inflicted on the bridge was so large in scale.
“This is a tragedy that you could never imagine … It looked like something out of an action movie,” Scott said.
Vehicle Traffic
The vehicle traffic that would have usually been driving across the steel bridge Tuesday morning has been redirected away while rescue efforts are ongoing. The bridge was part of Interstate 695 and was one of Baltimore’s three toll-crossing areas.
A Maryland Transportation Authority report estimated that nearly 34,000 people cross the bridge every day.
Long Road Ahead
Baltimore officials are already predicting that the resolution to this incident will not come quickly. While rescue efforts are the current priority, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olzewski Jr. spoke about his worries about the fallout of the bridge collapse.
“We know that we have a long road ahead, not just in search-and-rescue, but in the fallout from this,” Olszewski Jr. said.
