In Baltimore, a Maersk container ship crashes into a bridge and collapses, killing 6 people
Several vehicles, including a truck with a trailer, fell from the bridge as a result of the accident
The 2.5km-long Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in the US city of Baltimore after a cargo ship hit it. Several vehicles, including a truck with a trailer, fell from the bridge as a result of the accident.
The 300-metre container ship Dali, flying the flag of Singapore, crashed into the bridge. The vessel was on its way from the port of Baltimore to Sri Lanka and was chartered by the shipping company Maersk.
As a result of the collision, the container ship was stuck among the wreckage of the destroyed bridge.
The US Federal Agency for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection reported that the Dali "lost momentum" before colliding with the bridge pier.
Six people are reported missing. On Tuesday evening, the US Coast Guard announced that, given the water and air temperature (about 3 degrees Celsius), they were most likely dead, and the search operation was suspended.
The vessel had sent a distress call before the collision, and workers repairing the road surface on the bridge managed to block traffic. Otherwise, there would have been many more victims.
According to US President Joe Biden, the collision between the container ship and the bridge pier was not intentional and happened by accident.
"We have no reason to believe that this was a deliberate act. Everything points to a terrible accident," he said.
Maersk issued a statement clarifying that the vessel was leased by it and was carrying cargo for its customers. The vessel was operated by Synergy Group.
"We are closely following the investigations by the authorities and Synergy and will do our best to keep our customers informed," Maersk said.
Synergy Marine Group said the Dali crew consists of 22 people, all of whom are Indian nationals. They were not injured.
The Port of Baltimore is the largest port in the United States in terms of wheeled vehicles and dry cargo. In 2023, 800,000 vehicles and 1.3 million imported goods passed through it.
The accident "will create significant problems on the US east coast for US importers and exporters," container shipping specialist Lars Jansen told the BBC. 21,000 containers will have to be diverted to other ports in the region, he explained.
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