Major Baltimore bridge collapses after container ship collision, 6 people missing

Following a huge cargo ship collision, a significant bridge in Baltimore fell early on Tuesday.

Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland’s secretary of transportation, said that six persons were missing following the crash at the Francis Scott Key Bridge. After being saved, two persons were sent to a trauma facility, one of them in critical condition. It’s possible that the missing individuals fell into the water.

Located southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan region, the bridge spans the Patapsco River and carries Interstate 695.jj

According to Wiedefeld, the huge cargo ship crashed at about 1:30 a.m. ET as workers were fixing the bridge. It is thought that the individuals missing were members of jj the construction team who were patching potholes on the bridge.

According to Wiedefeld, there is an ongoing search and rescue operation in relation to the event, and vessel movement into and out of the Port of Baltimore has been halted indefinitely.

Chief James W. Wallace of the Baltimore City Fire Department stated at a press conference, “This is a very large incident, it involves a very large footprint.”

According to an NTSB representative who talked with CNBC, a crew was dispatched to look into the collapse.

The fire department head stated that although sonar scans revealed the existence of submerged automobiles, they were unable to provide the precise count of cars involved.

Wallace stated, “The most recent information we have on the crew of the ship is that they are still on board of the ship,” and that rescue workers must first evaluate the vessel’s condition before being allowed to board. “We do not have that information,” he replied when asked if the ship was experiencing any mechanical difficulties.

There is no evidence, according to FBI and Maryland officials, that terrorism was the cause of the fall.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore stated, “The preliminary investigation points to an accident.” “We haven’t come across any reliable proof of a terrorist attack.”

According to Wiedefeld, the bridge is used by about 35,000 people daily. For the foreseeable future, drivers in the region will have to traverse the bay via the much busier Baltimore bay and Fort McHenry tunnels.

Moore stated that although reconstructing the bridge would take time, search and rescue operations currently take precedence.

“We’re going to make sure that this is not just rebuilt, but that the reconstruction is done in a way that honors the people affected by this tragedy,” Moore declared.

Maersk confirms chartering vessel

The U.S. Coast Guard identified the ship that struck the bridge as a 948-foot container ship that was rented by Maersk and flying the Singaporean flag.

The business stated that there were no Maersk employees or crew members on board the ship. According to shipping statistics, Synergy Marine Group is in charge of the ship. The company released a statement stating that all 22 crew members—including the two pilots—were on board and accounted for.

The organization stated, “The [ship] has now mobilized its Qualified Individual Incident response service, even though the precise cause of the incident is still unknown.” “The owners and managers are fully cooperating with Federal and State government agencies under an approved plan, and the US Coast Guard and local officials have been notified.”

The office of Maryland’s governor stated that emergency responders stayed at the scene following the collapse of the bridge.
In order to swiftly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration, Moore stated, “I have declared a State of Emergency here in Maryland and we are working with an interagency team.”
“As we assess and respond to this s s tragedy, we will stay in close contact with federal, ss state, and local entities that are carryingss out rescue efforts.”

The Francis Scott Key Bridge spans ss the Patapsco River and carries ss Interstate 695; this information has been updated to ss reflect this.

also read : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_(Baltimore)

How did ship collision cause Baltimore bridge collapse? Structural engineer discusses possible design factors at play

After being damaged by a cargo ship, a significant bridge in Baltimore fell on Tuesday morning.

According to accounts, a multi-agency emergency response including state officials, emergency services, and the Coast Guard was sparked by the catastrophic collapse that sent automobiles tumbling into the lake. There are now water rescues in progress.

As the current president of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Jerome Hajjar, the CDM Smith Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, says the collapse may show how older bridge designs may not have anticipated the risks posed by commercial shipping vessels growing larger over time.

According to him, there may have been a “mismatch between the size of the load” resulting from the ship collision and “the expected loads at the time of the bridge design,” which is why the bridge failed.

According to Hajjar, Northeastern Global News is seeing a genuine catastrophe.

A ship struck a bridge pillar in the video of the collapse, and the post subsequently seemed to give way and fall into the ocean.

“A bridge of this span, if the support structure loses its or even displaces significantly, that could be enough to cause the bridge to fail,” Hajjar adds. “The container ship must have significantly damaged the support structure.” “And the distance to the next supports on either side are too far once that support structure goes.”

Hajjar goes on: “It’s probable that the bridge was being pulled down as well, in essence, as the support collapsed. However, even if the bridge had only been resting on it, the failure would still occur if the support structure gave way and the bridge began to veer sharply downward.

The American Society of Civil Engineers states that the steel-arched Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is a section of Interstate 695, was the second-longest continuous-truss bridge span in the world when it was constructed and is currently the third longest. That was finished in 1977.

The cargo ship is called Dali and is registered under the Singaporean flag. The owners of the 948-foot-long ship ss reportedly told the New York Times ss that no one on board was hurt when the ship struck a ss bridge pillar around 1:30 in the morning.

According to Hajjar, it’s difficult to determine whether ss the bridge has structural flaws. When you take a force as big as a container ship and crash it into a bridge, it’s feasible that ss nothing about the bridge was flawed.

According to Hajjar, commercial ships frequently cross bridges that are comparable in length to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, especially in large ports.

“I would assume that they design these supports to be able to withstand some amount of sideways or lateral load like this,” Hajjar says, adding that he is unable to comment on the details of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s design.

“Consequently, I would also presume that this load was considerably greater than usual design loads,” he adds.

“The structural engineering community takes any collapse like this really seriously,” Hajjar continues. We look into things thoroughly, often taking years to do so.

Maryland bridge collapse: 6 unaccounted for after cargo ship hits Francis Scott Key Bridge

BALTIMORE — A major bridge collapsed in ss Baltimore early Tuesday morning after it was hit by a container ship, sending several vehicles plunging into the dark ss water below, sparking an intense search for survivors and shutting down one of the nation’s busiest ports.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency ss and said the calamity that knocked down the Francis Scott Key Bridge was likely the result of an accident and not an act of terrorism.

“Our state is in shock,” Moore said.

Just before the 984-foot cargo ship Dali struck a bridge support at eight knots, or around nine miles per hour, Moore said the ship reported a “power issue” to the authorities and sent out a mayday.

In the meanwhile, three passenger cars, a cement truck, and an additional vehicle of some type were among the at least five vehicles that rescue workers found using sonar in the icy 50-foot-deep water, according to Moore.

At least six persons were thought to be missing when the ship struck a support pillar while an unidentified number of personnel were performing repairs on the bridge, according to Moore.

The governor declared, “Saving lives is our only priority.”

According to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace, two persons had already been pulled out of the water.

According to Wallace, one was in good health but declined medical attention. The other was receiving treatment in a trauma clinic after suffering severe injuries.

Wallace stated, “At this point, we are still very much in an active search-and-rescue posture.”

Approximately a mile and a half in length, the bridge carries Interstate 695 across the Patapsco River southeast of Baltimore, and according to Moore, it is “fully up to code.”

A group of National Transportation Safety Board inspectors was already at the bridge, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been keeping an eye on the situation.

Before leaving for North Carolina later on Tuesday, President Joe Biden was anticipated to comment on the current state of affairs.

A senior White House official earlier stated, “Our hearts go out to the families of those who remain missing as a result of this horrific incident.”

Get real-time updates by clicking this link.

The moment the Dali struck a support and sent the bridge falling into the sea on Tuesday just after one in the morning was recorded on dramatic footage. Just prior to the crash, vehicles and trucks were visible on the bridge on a livestream. The boat’s lights were still on and it did not sink.

also read :https://funflipnews.com/spacex-starship-disintegrates-after-completing/