A significant bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and a number of other automobiles fell into the river under. Rescuers have been looking for a minimum of seven folks within the water.
The vessel seems to have hit one of many helps of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, inflicting the roadway to interrupt aside in a number of locations and plunge into the water, in line with a video posted on X, previously generally known as Twitter. The ship caught hearth and appeared to sink.
US Maryland Bridge Collapse
The bridge, which opened in 1977, spans the Patapsco River, a significant artery that together with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for delivery on the East Coast. It’s named for the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“It is a dire emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fireplace Division, instructed The Related Press. “Our focus proper now could be attempting to rescue and get better these folks.”
He added that some cargo seemed to be dangling from the bridge.
Emergency responders have been looking for a minimum of seven folks believed to be within the water, Cartwright mentioned, although he mentioned it is too early to know the way many individuals have been affected. He known as the collapse a “growing mass casualty occasion.”
He mentioned companies acquired 911 calls round 1:30 a.m. reporting {that a} ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge. A number of automobiles have been on the bridge on the time, together with one the dimensions of a tractor-trailer truck.
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Government Johnny Olszewski Jr. posted that emergency personnel have been responding and rescue efforts have been underway.
“All lanes closed each instructions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Site visitors is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.
