6 people are considered dead by American rescue services due to the collapse of the bridge in Baltimore. A major disaster was averted, authorities say, while warning of the cost of closing one of the nation's busiest shipping lanes
The US Coast Guard investigation concluded late Tuesday (26/3) his search for the six roadway maintenance crew workersthat were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it collapsed when a large container ship crashed into one of its piers.
< active search and rescue operationswere suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials said. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding the missing people alive because of the icy water and the time that had passed since the accident.
State Police Col. Roland Butler said authorities hoped to divers returned to the water after sunrise on Wednesday in an attempt to recover the bodies of the workers.
The Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, en route from the Port of Baltimore to Sri Lanka, struck a pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1:30 am. (local time). A section of the 2.57 kilometer structure collapsed almost immediately into the icy water, sending vehicles and people into the river.
Rescuers safely recovered two survivors, one of whom is being treated. He and the six missing were part of a crew filling potholes in the bridge's roadway, officials said earlier.
A major disaster was avoided
The ship reported a power outagebefore the impact, which allowed officials to stop traffic on the bridge before it collapsed. “They were able to stop the cars from going over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore. The bridge had no known structural problems, Moore said.
There was no evidence of sabotage,the officials said. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene of destruction with twisted metal in the sky. “It was something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you would see,” he said. Videos on social media showed the vessel hitting the bridge in the dark, vehicle headlights visible as it hit the water and the ship caught fire.
Lingering impact on supply chains
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said closing one of the nation's busiest shipping lanes until further notice will have “major and prolonged impact on supply chains“. The Port of Baltimore handles more car cargo than any other US port – more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.
General Motors and Ford Motor will reroute affected shipments, but the companies said disruption will be minimal. The 288.95-metre-long vessel had suffered a momentary loss of propulsion and dropped anchor as part of emergency procedures before the impact, its management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, said, according to the Port Authority of Singapore. /strong>
The Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, crashed into one of the bridge's pylons, according to Synergy. All 22 crew members on board are safe, it said. In addition to the impact on car shipments, the port closure could force shippers to divert Baltimore-bound cargo from containers to bulk. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the East Coast, experts say.
Biden: 'We will rebuild the bridge as soon as possible'
President Joe Biden said the U.S. Coast Guard responded quickly to the emergency call and praised the swift action of Maryland officials who closed the bridge before it was hit. He promised to visit Baltimore as soon as possible and said he wanted the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge.
“I am directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and to rebuild the bridge as soon as possibleBiden said. The bridge, named after the author of the national anthem, opened in 1977.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homedy said a team of 24 investigators and other agency personnel were on the scene. , but were unable to board the ship during research and dissemination services.
“Shocking sight”
Jayme Krause, 32, was working the night shift on the coast when the packages in front of her shook in what sounded like a loud explosion. A colleague at an Amazon logistics unit told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran outside to look. “I went there and sure enough, as always, it was gone, the whole bridge was missing, there was nothing there,” he told Reuters. “It was a shocking sight.”
The bridge serves as the main thoroughfare for motorists between New York and Washington seeking to avoid downtown Baltimore. It is one of three ways to cross the port, whichhas a traffic volume of 31,000 vehicles a day, or 11.3 million a year.
The same ship was involved in an incident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium in 2016,crashing into a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal. An inspection in 2023 in San Antonio, Chile, found deficiencies in “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to data on the public websites of Equasis, which provides information on the ships.
Tuesday's disaster is worst US bridge collapse since 2007, when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. The Dali was chartered by shipping company Maersk at the time of the incident, the Danish company said in a statement.
More than 40 vessels remained in the Port of Baltimore, including small cargo ships, tugboats and pleasure boats, according to with data from ship tracking and shipping analytics provider MarineTraffic. At least 30 other ships had indicated that their destination was Baltimore, the data showed.
source: newsbomb.gr
