Mass casualty incident as Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses in Baltimore, USA

A race is on to find seven people who are believed to have fallen into a cold river after the 3km bridge collapsed in Baltimore.

Local officials have labelled the disaster a “dire emergency”.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, which carries the I-95 interstate freeway, collapsed in a matter of seconds after being struck by the Singapore-flagged Dali ship at around 1.30am local time on Tuesday.

Two people have been rescued from the water, one was uninjured, the other has been taken to hospital in a serious condition, police said.

Water temperature in the Patapsco River is around 9C, cold enough for those who fell into the water to suffer hypothermia if not rescued quickly

Astonishing footage captured the moment the Dali hit one of the pillars of the 1977 bridge sending it crashing into the river.

Cars that were driving along the bridge fell around 56 metres into the river below, with authorities saying they are expecting a “mass casualty” event.

The US’ ABC News has reported that the crew of the container ship notified officials that they had lost control just before the collision.

Ship ‘lost propulsion’

The US Government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has reported the Dali “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port and warned port authorities of a possible collision.

“The vessel notified Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an allusion with the bridge was possible,” the report said.

“The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”

According to a ship mapping website, the cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka.

‘Dire emergency’

Baltimore City Fire Department communications chief Kevin Cartwright called the incident a “developing mass casualty event.”

“The dive and rescue team has arrived on scene to locate the individuals,”

Mr Cartwright added that emergency services were “trying to rescue and recover” people believed to have fallen into the water.

“This is a dire emergency,” he said.

Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott said the bridge collapse was an “unthinkable tragedy”.

“We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted, folks who we have to try to find,” he said.

“This is what our focus should be on right now, we’re going to continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy.”

He added that the scene of the bridge collapse “looked like an action movie”.

“Never would you think you would see the key bridge tumble down like this,” he said.

Authorities do not believe the incident is terror related.

Desperate search for survivors

Earlier the fire department said as many as 20 people could be in the water but during an early morning press conference, Mr Wallace said rescue teams were looking for upwards of seven people.

The bridge is a major artery for traffic around Baltimore.

“I can tell you our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water,” Mr Wallace said but he could not confirm the number.

He added that crew are still on-board the ship. “We are in communication with the Coast Guard.”

There was traffic chaos as the city was forced to shut roads around the bridge.

A tractor-trailer was one of the vehicles believed to be on the bridge when it came down,

CBS reported.

In a statement the White House said it was “closely monitoring” the situation.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those who remain missing as a result of this horrific incident,” it says.

“The US Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue for those who remain unaccounted for as a result of the bridge collapse.”

“This is so scary”

Locals in the area reported hearing a “loud thunder” sound as the incident occurred.

“The bridge is gone, holy hell,” Bobby Gattus said in a video shared by the BBC.

“I live nearby and I felt it,” one said on Facebook.

“It was like a loud thunder and everyone close is talking about it. Those poor people that lost their lives.

“I can’t imagine the fear they had. This is so scary and so sad.”

“This was wild,” another said.

“My fear is driving on bridges, and at night. The whole thing went down so fast.”

No injuries among ship crew, company says

Ship monitoring website MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali stopped under the bridge early Tuesday.

According to the website, it was bound for Colombo Port in Sri Lanka. The boat’s length overall (LOA) is 299.92 meters and width is 48.2 meters.

All crew members, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries, Synergy Marine Group confirmed to the BBC.

Ship goes off course

Footage shared on X shows the ship losing power several times before hitting the bridge.

Thick plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the vessel as it slowly turned and headed toward the steel beam.

David McFarlane, a maritime safety expert, told Sky News that his first thought was that something had gone wrong with the ship and the crash was not due to human error.

“The first thing that springs to my mind is: was there a sudden fault with the ship’s engines or the steering gear?” he said.

Another expert told the BBC the collision could have been due to a number of factors including engine or steering failure or a generator blackout.

Footage of the collapse shocks the world

Unbelievable video of the collision shows a towering boat headed directly toward one of the bridge’s support columns before colliding with it, sending a massive stretch of the bridge crashing into the water below in seconds.

The impact immediately triggered the collapse of adjacent portions of the bridge and sent large plumes of smoke and fire into the air.

Part of the bridge appeared to collapse over the front of the boat and dark smoke continued to rise into the air for several minutes.

The bridge’s namesake, Francis Scott Key, is believed to have sat near the site of the bridge as he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, inspiring him to write the words of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

The bridge forms part of the major highway 695 that circles Baltimore.

The bridge was built in 1977.

In 2023, an estimated 800,000 vehicles passed through the port, moving a record 1.3 million tons of imported cargo.

-With AFP