Collapsed bridge in Baltimore: Six people presumed dead. Total blackout aboard the ship before impact

Collapsed bridge in Baltimore. Six people are presumed dead after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after being hit by a container ship. Investigators hope to board the ship on Wednesday to retrieve data records from the ship. The cargo ship Dali was also involved in a similar incident in the port of Antwerp in 2016. And in 2023, it was stranded in Chile due to a propulsion problem.

By the Observator editorial team on 27.03.2024, 11:08

The search for survivors was suspended Tuesday night in Baltimore after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the harbor, but will resume. The six people reported missing are presumed dead, a coast guard official announced.

“Based on the length of the search (…), the temperature of the water, we currently do not believe we will find these individuals still alive,” said Vice Admiral Shannon Gilreath during a press conference.

The 6 people presumed dead are construction workers who were carrying out repairs on the bridge when the structure collapsed.

An expert told the BBC that their bodies could be trapped under the broken pieces of the bridge, on the bottom of the river, or carried away by strong currents.

Even if the water is not very deep, the bodies could be blocked by debris and divers and sonar might be needed to find them.

“A huge advantage is that the ship didn’t sink, so the investigators will have access to the records,” he said.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will board the ship Wednesday to begin gathering evidence.

Why did the Dali ship hit the Baltimore bridge?

Baltimore authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the crash. So far it is known that according to a notice from the US Cyber ​​Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, the ship “lost propulsion when leaving the port of Baltimore”.

The images captured before the tragedy show that the lights on the ship flickered and went out shortly before the impact, which would indicate a blackout on board.

Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots Association, told CNN that there was a “total blackout” on board before the impact, the ship lost its engine and power.

US officials, including President Joe Biden, said the crew aboard the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of the ships. I mean they put out a call for help.

At the time, the ship was moving at a “very high rate of speed” toward the bridge, officials said, meaning it could not stop or turn in time.

The call for help from the ship prompted local authorities to shut down traffic before impact, which “undoubtedly saved lives,” Biden said.

But there are unanswered questions, including why the ship lost propulsion. Authorities say they are still investigating

Major and prolonged impact on supply chains

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, a city in the state of Maryland (eastern USA), collapsed on Tuesday after being hit by a ship. The bridge broke into several pieces and fell into the Patapsco River.

The container-laden ship ran out of power and issued an emergency call moments before the impact, but was going too fast to change course, the BBC writes.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he expected a “major and prolonged impact on supply chains.”

President Biden said the US government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.

Shipping giant Maersk confirmed that the Dali vessel was chartered by it and Synergy Marine group was the operator or manager of the Singapore-flagged vessel. The registered owner of the vessel is Grace Ocean Pte. Ltd.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is 2.57 kilometers long, was put into operation in 1977. According to official data, the bridge was crossed by 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles last year.