What to know about the Baltimore bridge collapse National News

Local, state and federal agencies are responding collapse The bridge of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River early Tuesday morning, carrying people and vehicles with it after a container ship collided with a pillar.

there are six people presumed dead And according to the New York Times, two have been rescued from the Patapsco River. The river flows next to the city’s busy port, where the ship originated. maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning and said statement That his office was working “to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden administration.”

However, more information about the circumstances surrounding the collapse is expected to emerge, a White House official said told The Baltimore Sun stated that “there is no indication of any nefarious intent.”

Here’s what else you need to know about the devastation that struck Maryland’s largest city.

According to reports, at around 1:30 am on Tuesday, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship called Dali collided with a pillar of the bridge. baltimore banner, The accident occurred approximately 30 minutes after the 27-day journey. Sri LankaAccording to ship tracking website VesselFinder.

Video footage shows the nearly 1,000-foot-long ship appear to lose power before hitting the pillar, and ABC News said noted The findings of a declassified government report said the ship “lost propulsion” while leaving port and that its crew had warned Maryland authorities about a possible collision.

Although officials initially feared that the captured cars had fallen into the river, sources told The New York Times that Dalí’s May Day call had prevented traffic from entering the bridge before it collapsed. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen told the Times that vehicles used by workers repairing potholes were parked on the bridge and appeared to have fallen into the river.

The 1.6-mile-long bridge is part of Interstate 695, which connects different parts of Baltimore near the Patapsco River. Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, the bridge is Name For Francis Scott Key, who wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” after seeing the American flag waving over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Six people – all construction workers who were working on the bridge when it collapsed – died, according to officials. End Efforts for their rescue were made late Tuesday night. An employee with a labor contractor told The banner reads that the missing are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and are their spouses and children. Divers will try to recover the body on Wednesday.

respondents pulled The two survivors – one of whom was in “very serious condition” – were pulled out of the river. The ship’s technical manager, Synergy Marine Group, said in a statement that Dali’s 22 crew members, including two pilots, have been located and “there are no reports of injuries.” statement,

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, like Moore, Issued State of emergency on Tuesday. “This is a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency effort mobilizing federal, state and local resources,” he said Said On social media.

President Joe Biden said in remarks Tuesday that it was a “terrible accident” and that he planned to get to Baltimore as soon as possible. “Together we are going to rebuild that port,” the president said. “To the people of Baltimore, I want to say that we are with you. We will be with you as long as it takes.”

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg couple A statement said it had spoken to both Moore and Scott and offered the support of the Department for Transport. Buttigieg advised drivers in the area to “follow local responder guidance on detours and detours.”

There from 1960 to 2015 Were 35 major bridges around the world collapsed – including 18 in the US – due to ship or barge collisions, killing a total of 342 people. According to 2018 report of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.

In the 2023 edition of best state ranking, maryland was number 39 for basic infrastructure, one of eight categories analyzed by US News. The state performed better when it mattered bridge quality, ranking No. 14 for that metric. Francis Scott’s Bridge was assessed According to the Federal Highway Administration, it will be in “fair” condition in 2023. national bridge list, there can be bridges Evaluation As in “good,” “fair” or “bad.”

But Joseph Schaeffer, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, said in an emailed statement that the bridge is otherwise “unsafe due to its design.” According to the Times, engineers also questioned whether there were fenders on the bridge piers to prevent a possible collision. informed of,

“The bridge requires a complete reconstruction, which will be a long-term and expensive project,” Schaefer said.