The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed early Tuesday morning after a cargo ship collided with and took out a support column. The Key Bridge is a major commuter route carrying the Baltimore Beltway I-695 over the Patapsco River at the southern end of the Baltimore Harbor. There are no official reports on casualties as of this writing. There are unconfirmed reports of several cars in the water as well as construction workers unaccounted for. As of just before 5 a.m. EDT, rescue crews have not pulled anyone out of the water, however the crew on the ship is reported to be safe and all accounted for. (Morning update: A road crew was fixing potholes on the bridge at the time. Two people were rescued from the water. One was not injured, the other was seriously hurt and is hospitalized. Six others are missing and being searched for. Still unknown as to the number of vehicles that were lost.)
Key Bridge, photo via the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Screen images from a port camera livestream show the moment of impact and aftermath of the collapse:
Photos and videos posted early Tuesday show what appears to be massive damage. A copy of a security camera video time stamped 1:28 a.m. EDT on March 26 shows a ship hitting a support column, collapsing in just seconds the central part with the steel arch-shaped truss. The Key Bridge was reported to have been the third longest continuous truss bridge in the world.
BREAKING NEWS
Maryland Keybridge collapsed after cargo ship collides with support beam pic.twitter.com/9IgvJyi46Y— Hayward Jablomi (@HaywerdJablomi) March 26, 2024
Another view from copied video (language warning):
— Joe Bradley (@JoeBradleyEMT92) March 26, 2024
Aftermath:
https://twitter.com/thelandofvince/status/1772506241580814466
Photo:
A container ship has struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Part of the bridge has collapsed. Multiple fire and police boats are on the way. pic.twitter.com/D6o04271k7
— Andrew Doyle (@doyle0213) March 26, 2024
Longer video clip:
Here is a longer edit of the ship colliding with the Key Bridge. Please pray for those on the bridge, including a construction crew, and on the ship, the rescue workers, the repair crews to come, as well as all their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/dztTGdODk7
— Phil Stamper (@TrustInPhil) March 26, 2024
Live video of recovery efforts (scroll back to 1:25 a.m. to see the ship approaching the bridge and 1:28 a.m. to see the collision and collapse):
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D)) posted he is heading to the accident scene, “I’m aware of and en route to the incident at the Key Bridge. I have been in contact with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJr, and @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway.”
I’m aware of and en route to the incident at the Key Bridge. I have been in contact with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJr, and @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway.
— Brandon M. Scott (@MayorBMScott) March 26, 2024
Independent reporter Dave Statter reports the the ship was a cargo ship from Singapore, “Key Bridge Update 4: Here is more on the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore.”
Key Bridge Update 4: Here is more on the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is out of Singapore. https://t.co/ZD6mCpsLLf https://t.co/ecPk09QIBw pic.twitter.com/c9bDbUD7PU
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) March 26, 2024
Washington Post map of the incident:
Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge that has collapsed in Baltimore after a ship collided with it.https://t.co/O0W6q9WssH pic.twitter.com/sb0xcvSjmD
— Post Graphics (@PostGraphics) March 26, 2024
Background on the Key Bridge via the Maryland Transportation Authority:
This outer crossing of the Baltimore Harbor opened in March 1977 as the final link in I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway). The 1.6 mile Key Bridge crosses over the Patapsco River where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the words of the Star Spangled Banner. This facility also includes the Curtis Creek Drawbridge. Including the bridge and approach roadways, the facility is approximately 10.9 miles in length.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in March 1977 and is named for the author of the Star Spangled Banner. The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore’s Harbor. Upon completion, the bridge structure and its approaches became the final links in Interstate 695 (the Baltimore Beltway).
By the early 1960s, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (Interstate 895), the first crossing of Baltimore’s Harbor, had reached its traffic capacity, and motorists encountered heavy congestion and delays almost daily during rush hours. The State Roads Commission, predecessor of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), concluded there was a need for a second harbor crossing and began planning a single-tube tunnel under the Patapsco River, downstream from the Harbor Tunnel. The proposed site was between Hawkins Point and Sollers Point. Plans also were underway for a drawbridge over Curtis Creek to connect Hawkins Point to Sollers Point.
Contractors took borings of the harbor bottom in the spring of 1969. Bids for construction of the proposed tunnel were opened on July 30, 1970, but price proposals were substantially higher than the engineering estimates. Officials drafted alternative plans, including the concept of a four-lane bridge.
The bridge, at an estimated cost of $110 million, represented the best alternative because it allowed for more traffic lanes and carried lower operating and maintenance costs than a tunnel. In addition, a bridge would provide a route across the Baltimore Harbor for vehicles transporting hazardous materials (these materials are prohibited from both the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry [Interstate 95] tunnels).
Construction on the Francis Scott Key Bridge began in 1972, and the bridge opened to traffic on March 23, 1977. Including its connecting approaches, the bridge project is 10.9 miles in length. Other structures along the thruway include a .64-mile dual-span drawbridge over Curtis Creek and two .74-mile parallel bridge structures that carry traffic over Bear Creek, near Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point plant.
The Key Bridge is located in an area rich with American history. Scholars believe the span crosses within 100 yards of the site where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the evening of Sept. 12, 1814. That battle inspired Key to write the words of the Star Spangled Banner.
Located just southeast of the bridge are the ruins of Fort Carroll, a 3.4-acre man-made island. The structure was designed by then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Construction of the fort began in 1848, under the supervision of Brevet-Colonel Lee, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Fort Carroll was important for the defense of Baltimore — before the fort was created, the only military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay was Fort McHenry.
The government abandoned the fort as a military post in 1920, and the island was declared excess property in 1923. However, the War Department took no immediate steps to sell the land. In May 1958, a Baltimore attorney purchased the island for $10,000, but development plans never materialized. The fort now is deserted.
Along with the Fort McHenry and Baltimore Harbor Tunnels, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is part of a network of Baltimore Harbor crossings that provides convenient and safe transportation for local and interstate traffic.
UPDATE 4:45 a.m. EDT: Reuters reports all ship’s crew safe and accounted for (excerpt):
Ship tracking data from LSEG shows a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, at the location along the Key Bridge where the accident occurred. The registered owner of the ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG data show.
Synergy Marine Corp said that a Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali” collided with one of the pillars of the bridge and that all its crew members, including the two pilots have been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.
The AP reported rescuers are searching for at least seven people (excerpt):
“This is a dire emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press. “Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.”
He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge.
Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Cartwright said, though he said it’s too early to know how many people were affected. He called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
He said agencies received 911 calls around 1:30 a.m. reporting that a ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.
The Baltimore Sun reported weather conditions at the site of the incident as of 4 a.m. (excerpt):
The National Data Buoy Center reported water temperatures in that area of the Patapsco were about 49 degrees at 4 a.m. The air temperature was 41 and winds were light.
The Baltimore Banner reported no rescues had been made as of just before 5 a.m. (excerpt):
“It’s believed that seven individuals may be in the Patapsco River that we are actively trying to locate using dive rescue team,” Cartwright said.
…Cartwright said officials had received reports that a construction crew in addition to multiple vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, but could not confirm that information yet. He said no one had been rescued from the waters as of just before 5 a.m., and that visibility in the water due to silt was “poor to none.”
