Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapses, rescue efforts ongoing

WASHINGTON (CN) — At least two people were pulled from Baltimore’s Patapsco River Tuesday morning after a cargo ship caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse, but officials say there may be other people trapped in the water.

Video footage from around 1:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday shows a container ship, the Dali, colliding with one of the bridge’s main supports, causing large portions of the span to collapse. Several vehicles are seen on the roadway in the moments before the bridge came down.

First responders have labeled the collapse a mass casualty event as they work to locate people trapped in the water. So far, officials have said two people have been rescued but have indicated that there could be at least seven others, although some reports have suggested there could be as many as 20 people stranded.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott declared a local state of emergency in light of the Key Bridge’s collapse — and Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued a similar decree statewide early Tuesday morning.

Moore said that he was in communication with the federal Transportation Department and they were coordinating to send help. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he had offered Moore and Scott the agency’s support and that “rescue efforts remain underway.”

Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation also reacted to the news.

“Praying for those who were on the FSK bridge,” said Senator Ben Cardin. “Horrific news this morning.”

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin wrote on X that he was “deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of everyone affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” adding that he was “profoundly thankful to first responders on the scene.”

The Key Bridge was a main artery for vehicles carrying hazardous materials on the I-95 corridor, providing an alternative route to the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels, where such cargo is prohibited. The bridge also spanned the Patapsco River, a main access point for Baltimore’s shipping hub.

The Maryland Department of Transportation has said that the port is temporarily closed to shipping vessels. The Maryland Transportation Authority, meanwhile, has shut down portions of I-695 near the collapsed bridge.

As rescue efforts continue, it is still unclear what caused the Singapore-flagged Dali to collide with the Key bridge.

In the video clip, the cargo ship appears to lose power more than once in the moments before the collision, as its deck lights flicker on and off. Immediately after it struck the bridge, the vessel began to billow black smoke.

The Dali remains lodged in the bridge’s wreckage as responders work to locate anyone else potentially trapped in the water.

The Key bridge featured a steel truss design and was opened to the public in 1977. The span had a four-lane roadway and carried as many as 11 million vehicles every year across the Patapsco River.

This is a breaking story and will be updated …

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss

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