A mass casual෴ty incident has been announced following a collision involving a container ship and a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday morning. Disturbing footage captures the moment the Francis Scotꦅt Key Bridge collapsed as a ship collided with its central section.
The steel arches swiftly gave way, plungin꧟g into the Patapsc🌺o River just before 1:30 a.m.
The exact number of 💛vehicles on the 1.6 mile-long bridge was uncertain, but the Baltimore City Fire Department confirmed that "at least seven people" were in the❀ river.
Kevin Cartwright, the communications chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department, described the incident as an "developing mas🍌s casualty event."
“The dive and rescue team has arrived on scene to locate the individuals,”🅘 Cartwright said.
Emergency s🔴ervices are currently “t💮rying to rescue and recover” those believed to have fallen into the water.
"This is a dire emergency," Cartwright 🔯emphasized.
The dramatic collapse was captured on vide🎶o and shared via a YouTube livestream, depicting the structure collapsing into the water.
The US Coast Guard and the Marylan🎃d Transportation Authority confirmed the crash but did not provide additiona🤪l details.
The Maryland Transportation Authority wrote on X, "All ཧlanes closed both di🌞rections for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured."
Baltimore Co✤unty Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. stated on X, "Rescue efforts are underway. Pleaꦓse pray for those impacted."
Authoriജties reported that the nearby body of water was contaminated with diesel fuel.
According to the maritime data plat🔯form MarineTraffic, the Singapore-flagged container ship named Dali departed from Baltimore shortly after 1 a.m. and was en route to the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
Several Coast Guard boats, designated as search and rescue vessels, were seen circling the vessel𓃲 around 3 a.m.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott stated on X, "I’m aware of and en route to the incident at the Key Bridge. … Emergency personnel are on sc💝ene, and efforts are underway."
A spokesperson from the Baltimore Police Department info💧rmed NBC News that individuals may have ended up in the river, although th𓆏e exact number remains unclear.
"I can c꧅onfirm at 1:35 a.m., Baltimore City police were notified of a partial bridge collapse, with workers possibly in the water, at the Francis Scott Key Bridge," Detective Niki Fennoy stated in a release.
The Maryland Transportation Authority announced the closure of all lanes in both directions ꧅following the tragic event.
Constructed in 1977, the bri♎dge, a segment of I-695, spans into Baltimore's harbor.
