Cargo Ship Dali Crashes, Collapses Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Patapsco River, Baltimore

The first news conference from Baltimore officials 4 hours after the ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. YouTube Tips ⓘ

Police and firefighters, and paramedics from Baltimore responded about 1:28 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 26, 2024 to a report of crash involving a container ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge (Interstate 695) in Baltimore. Several vehicles crossing the bridge over the Patapsco River fell into the river when the bridge collapsed.

Firefighters initially believed at the time of the first press briefing that there were possibly at least seven people missing at the scene. Two people were initially rescued. One person was reported in serious condition, and one person did not initially report any injuries and refused medical transportation.

In addition to motorists, initial reports indicated there may have been construction workers working at the bridge at the time of the crash. The status of all crew members on ship was not initially known, but a fire was reported on the ship, and black smoke was visible after the crash.

Sonar equipment as part of the Search, Rescue and Recovery operation detected several vehicles under water after the crash.

The Dali, a cargo/container ship, hit a support pillar located in the Patapsco River while sailing under the flag of Singapore.

According to the the marine vessel tracking website marinetraffic.com, the Dali container ship departed Baltimore at 1:00 a.m. EDT on March 26, 2024 and was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka with estimated arrival of April 22, 2024.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is about one mile long over water. The entire length of the bridge over water and land is 1.6 mile. The longest bridge span was 1,200 feet. Construction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge began in 1972, and the bridge opened on March 23, 1977.

Port of Baltimore

There are an extra-ordinary number of marine terminals, shipyard, automobile distribution center, and business distribution centers including Home Depot, Floor & Decor, Under Armour, Volkswagen, BMW, FedEx, and Amazon distribution centers near the scene.

Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, owned by the Maryland Port Administration is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland. The Port of Baltimore is located on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and is the nation’s largest port facility for specialized cargo (roll-on/roll-off ships) and passenger facilities.

The Inner Harbor and downtown Baltimore is located northwest of the bridge collapse scene, and includes Fort McHenry from the War of 1812.

A very large coal terminal, the CONSOL Marine Terminal is also north of the scene. CONSOL Energy owns the Baltimore Marine Terminal, the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, and over 1 billion tons of undeveloped reserves — considered some of the best coal assets in the world, according to the CONSOL Energy official website.

An active search and rescue scene underway overnight and into Tuesday morning after the cargo ship Dali struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge about 1:28 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, March 26, 2028 (ABC News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

Search and rescue efforts are underway after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency, saying in a statement that, “we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden administration” (CBS News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

A search and rescue operation is underway after a cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore causing the bridge to collapse (Tom Costello/NBC News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

Report from the White House after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland was struck by a cargo ship and collapsed overnight (Mark Meredith/Fox News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

Donald Heinbuch, former Chief of Operations for Baltimore City Fire Department (Assistant Fire Chief, retired) said he was awakened by what sounded like rolling thunder when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning as a cargo ship struck the bridge, and emphasized how important the news media’s information was in helping the emergency response and informing citizens (CBS News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

Maryland Delegate Nick Allen discusses the rescue efforts and the clean-up challenges and future impact of the catastrophic bridge collapse (ABC News). YouTube Tips ⓘ

DEVELOPING …

The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.

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