The Francis Scott Key Bridge
in Baltimore
, in the US state of Maryland,
collapsed during the night
following a collision with a Singapore-flagged cargo ship.
Two people were saved, around twenty people were missing.
At least seven vehicles, including a truck, fell into the water.
The collision occurred around 1:30 in the morning (6:30 in Italy).
The container ship
caught fire and sank
.
"
This is an inconceivable tragedy...
our thoughts go out to the people involved": said the mayor of Baltimore, Brendon Scott, commenting on the collapse of the bridge in a press conference.
All members of the crew of the freighter Dali that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott-Key Bridge in Baltimore are unharmed.
The shipping company made this known.
There were two commanders on board the ship.
The cause of the collision has yet to be determined and the owners are cooperating with authorities, according to a statement to the New York Times.
All roads to Baltimore were closed.
I-695, which used the bridge to get motorists past the port and avoid the city center, was also closed.
Video Collision with a cargo ship, Baltimore bridge collapses
The dynamics -
The Dali ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore appears to have lost energy and gone off course immediately before impact with one of the bridge's pylons.
In a video taken by security cameras, the freighter, which had numerous containers on board bound for Colombo in Sri Lanka, can also be seen emitting a column of dark smoke before impact.
The power loss appears to have occurred at 01:24:32 local time for approximately 60 seconds.
A minute later the ship emits black smoke.
The lights went out again for a second time two minutes before impact.
The Dali struck the bridge at 01:28:44, about a half-hour after leaving Baltimore Harbor, and the bridge collapsed four seconds later.
A
large slick of diesel fuel
was reported in the Baltimore River.
State of emergency declared
Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
“We have assembled a multi-agency team to rapidly deploy federal resources provided by the Biden Administration as we continue to connect with relief providers and assess and respond to this tragedy,” Moore said.
'Event in the mass loss category'
Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said it was too early to confirm the number of victims, but described the collapse of the Francis Scott-Key Bridge as a "mass casualty event."
Cartright said his forces are now focusing on rescuing those in the water.
The water in Baltimore Harbor is currently at 9 degrees Celsius according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The risk for those who fell into the water and survived is hypothermia.
The Baltimore Bridge opened in 1977. 2,632 meters long
The Francis Scott-Key Bridge opened in 1977. At the time of its opening, the New York Times wrote that it would provide motorists traveling along the US East Coast with "an attractive alternative" to the perpetually clogged Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. from traffic.
The bridge cost 141 million dollars at the time, the equivalent of 735 million dollars today.
The Francis Scott-Key Bridge is 2,632 meters long. Transit averages 11 million vehicles per day. year and is one of the authorized routes for transporting dangerous goods through the port of Baltimore which cannot pass through the two tunnels named after Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry. The central arch against which the Dali freighter hit has an opening of 366 metres, the third longest in the world. The construction, as the last piece of the Baltimore ring road, cost 141 million dollars at the time.
Tajani on bridge accident, 'Italy close to the United States'
"A prayer for the victims of the tragic accident that occurred on the Baltimore bridge. In the hope that the missing are well, I express on behalf of the Italian Government our closeness to the United States": Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani wrote this on .
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA