Baltimore bridge collapses after ship collision

A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the US port of Baltimore in darkness early yesterday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.

Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in very serious condition, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.

Baltimore officials said at least six people were believed to have been thrown into the water but could not give an exact figure hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.

The ship was identified as the Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and managed by Synergy Marine Corp.

Kevin Cartwright, the spokesperson for Baltimore City Fire Department, earlier told Reuters that as many as 20 people could be in the river along with cars and possibly a tractor-trailer.

The US Coast Guard reported the collapse at 1:27 am and crews were deployed for an active search and rescue mission after the Singapore-flagged container ship forced the trellis-like bridge up into a mangled mass of metal.

President Joe Biden was being briefed on the collision and there was no indication of nefarious intent, the White House said.

Work crews had been on the bridge at the time of the collapse and sonar detected vehicles under the water, which was about 50 feet deep at that point, said Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Secretary of Transportation.

Jayme Krause was in the midst of another night shift at her workplace on shore when the cart of packages in front of her shook violently at around 2:00 am. A co-worker told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran out to look.

"I went over there, and sure as anything, it was gone, the whole bridge was just like, there was nothing there," she told Reuters in an interview. "It was a shocking sight to see."

The ship "lost propulsion" as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified US intelligence report.

Traffic was suspended at the Port of Baltimore until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said. It is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.

The closure of one of the US East Coast's major ports threatens to disrupt supplies of goods from cars, to coal and other commodities like sugar. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Northeastern seaboard, experts say. The port handles the most car imports and is among the largest for coal exports.

Synergy said the Dali collided with one of the pillars of the bridge and that all its crew members, including the two pilots, had been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.