The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed early Tuesday morning after a cargo ship collided with a support column, destroying it. The Key Bridge is a major commuter route carrying the I-695 Baltimore Beltway over the Patapsco River at the southern end of the Port of Baltimore. There are no official casualty reports as of this writing. There are unconfirmed reports of several cars in the water and construction workers missing. Just before 5 a.m. EDT, rescue crews did not pull anyone out of the water, however it appears the ship’s crew is safe and sound.
Key Bridge, photo via Maryland Transportation Authority.
Images on the livestream screen of a port camera show the moment of impact and the consequences of the collapse:
Photos and videos released early Tuesday show what appears to be massive damage. A copy of security camera video, time-stamped 1:28 a.m. EDT on March 26, shows a vessel striking a support column, causing the central steel-trussed section to collapse within seconds. of arc. The Key Bridge is said to have been the third longest continuous truss bridge in the world.
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The Maryland Keybridge collapsed after the cargo ship collided with the support beam pic.twitter.com/9IgvJyi46Y— Hayward Jablomi (@HaywerdJablomi) March 26, 2024
Another view from the copied video (language warning):
— Joe Bradley (@JoeBradleyEMT92) March 26, 2024
Consequences:
https://twitter.com/thelandofvince/status/1772506241580814466
Photo:
A container ship hits the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Part of the bridge collapsed. Several fire and police boats are arriving. pic.twitter.com/D6o04271k7
—Andrew Doyle (@doyle0213) March 26, 2024
Longest video clip:
Here’s a longer edit of the ship colliding with the Key Bridge. Please pray for those on deck, including a construction crew, and on the ship, for rescuers, for repair crews to come, as well as for all their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/dztTGdODk7
— Phil Stamper (@TrustInPhil) March 26, 2024
Live video of the recovery attempts (scroll back to 1:25 to see the ship approaching the bridge and to 1:28 to see the collision and collapse):
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) posted that he is heading to the scene of the accident: “I am aware of and on my way to the accident at the Key Bridge. I have been in contact with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJr and @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on site and operations are underway.”
I am aware of the accident at the Key Bridge and am en route to it. I have been in contact with @BaltimoreFire Chief Wallace, @GovWesMoore @JohnnyOJrAND @AACoExec. Emergency personnel are on site and operations are underway.
— Brandon M. Scott (@MayorBMScott) March 26, 2024
Independent journalist Dave Statter reports that the ship was a cargo ship from Singapore, “Key Bridge Update 4: Here’s more on the container ship that hit the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is outside Singapore.
Key Bridge Update 4: Here’s more information about the container ship that hit the Francis Scott Keys Bridge via Vessel Finder. The Dali is outside Singapore. https://t.co/ZD6mCpsLLf https://t.co/ecPk09QIBw pic.twitter.com/c9bDbUD7PU
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) March 26, 2024
Washington Post crash map:
Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge that 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 into I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway). The 1.6-mile Key Bridge spans the Patapsco River where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the words to the Star Spangled Banner. This structure also includes the Curtis Creek drawbridge. Including the bridge and access roads, the structure is approximately 10.9 miles long.
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 at the Port of Baltimore. Upon completion, the bridge structure and its approaches became the final links of Interstate 695 (the Baltimore Beltway).
By the early 1960s, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (Interstate 895), Baltimore’s first harbor crossing, had reached its traffic capacity, and motorists encountered heavy congestion and delays nearly every day during rush hour. The State Roads Commission, predecessor of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), concluded that a second harbor crossing was needed and began planning a single-bore tunnel under the Patapsco River, downstream from the Harbor Tunnel. The proposed site was between Hawkins Point and Sollers Point. Plans were also underway for a drawbridge over Curtis Creek to connect Hawkins Point to Sollers Point.
Contractors began drilling the harbor floor 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 engineering estimates. Officials have drawn up alternative plans, including the concept of a four-lane bridge.
The bridge, with an estimated cost of $110 million, was the best alternative because it allowed more lanes of traffic and had lower operating and maintenance costs than a tunnel. Additionally, a bridge would provide a route across the Port of Baltimore for vehicles carrying hazardous materials (these materials are banned from both the Port of Baltimore and Fort McHenry [Interstate 95] tunnel).
Construction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge began in 1972, and the bridge opened to traffic on March 23, 1977. Including its connecting approaches, the bridge design is 10.9 miles long. Other structures along the freeway include a 0.64-mile double-span drawbridge over Curtis Creek and two 0.74-mile parallel bridge structures carrying traffic over Bear Creek, near Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point plant.
The Key Bridge is located in an area rich in 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 September 12, 1814. That battle inspired Key to write the words to the Star Spangled Banner.
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 to the defense of Baltimore: before the fort’s creation, the only military defensive facility 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 surplus property in 1923. However, the War Department took no immediate steps to sell the land. In May 1958, a Baltimore lawyer purchased the island for $10,000, but development plans never materialized. The fort is now deserted.
Along with the Fort McHenry and Baltimore Harbor Tunnels, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is part of a Baltimore Harbor crossing network that provides convenient and safe transportation for local and interstate traffic.
UPDATE 4:45 AM EDT: Reuters reports that all of the ship’s crew are safe and sound (excerpt):
Vessel tracking data from LSEG shows a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, at the location along the Key Bridge where the incident occurred. The registered owner of the vessel is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG data shows.
Synergy Marine Corp said the Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali” collided with one of the bridge’s pillars and that all crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of injuries.
The AP reported that rescuers are searching for at least seven people (excerpt):
“This is a terrible emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, communications director for the Baltimore Fire Department, told the Associated Press. “Our focus right now is to try to rescue and recover these people.”
He added that it appeared cargo was hanging from the bridge.
Rescuers were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Cartwright said, although he said it was too early to know how many people were affected. She called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
He said the agencies received emergency calls around 1:30 a.m. reporting that a ship departing Baltimore had struck a column on the deck. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer.
The Baltimore Sun reported weather conditions at the crash site at 4 a.m. (excerpt):
The National Data Buoy Center reported that the water temperature in that area of Patapsco was about 49 degrees at 4 a.m. The air temperature was 41 and the winds were light.
The Baltimore Banner reported that no rescue had taken place shortly before 5 a.m. (excerpt):
“It is believed that seven individuals may be in the Patapsco River that we are actively attempting to locate using the dive rescue team,” Cartwright said.
…Cartwright said officials had received reports that a construction crew as well as several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, but could not yet confirm that information. He said no one had been rescued from the waters just before 5am and that visibility in the water due to the silt was “little or non-existent”.