The collapse took place about 1.30am on Tuesday, shortly after the ship, known as Dali, departed the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka.
As it tried to navigate the channel, the vessel lost power before colliding with a support beam, causing a roar that could be heard ashore.
A construction crew was on the bridge, and two people were initially rescued after its collapse. One was taken to a nearby trauma centre with serious injuries, while the second person was miraculously unharmed.
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However, six people were unaccounted for, and others narrowly avoided the disaster.
“My son was on the bridge about 10 minutes before it happened,” local resident Jen Wolf told this masthead.
“He was at his girlfriend’s house in Dundalk, just over the bridge, but they got into an argument so he came back. He was home not even for three minutes when the bridge collapsed.”
The bridge is about double the size of Sydney’s much-loved Harbour Bridge and is named after Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.
But what remains now are submerged steel rods and twisted metal, much of it wrapped around the 95,000-tonne, 985-foot-long (300 metre) Dali.
Before the crash, the ship’s crew notified authorities that the Dali had lost power – a “mayday” that allowed transport authorities on the highway above to prevent many cars from driving onto it just before the impact took place.
According to authorities, the ship was moving around eight knots before the collision, which is a typical speed for vessels travelling in the area. At 1.24am, the lights of the ship flickered on and off as it travelled, and then at 1.26am it looked as though it was starting to change course. A few minutes later it crashed into the bridge.
Most of the roads around the four-lane arterial had been blocked off as helicopters flew overhead and divers searched for signs of life below.
Maryland State Police said divers would return to the water at 6am Wednesday (US time) to try to recover the bodies of the six missing construction workers and give their families closure.
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“Never would you think that you would see – physically see – the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “This is an unthinkable tragedy.”
The incident has stunned Americans – including US President Joe Biden, who has regularly crossed the bridge to get into Washington from his home in Delaware.
He said the search and rescue operation was the top priority for now, but with 15,000 jobs dependent on the port and millions of Americans reliant on the bridge, the federal government would pay for its reconstruction.
Baltimore is one of the key ports on America’s eastern seaboard, and a critical port for the car industry in particular.
Ahead of a busy Easter weekend, the shutdown around the bridge is also likely to cause chaos for travellers wanting to use the connection between New York and Washington DC.
“I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to rebuild the port and reopen the bridge,” he said, adding that he hoped the bridge would be up and running “as soon as humanly possible”.
But while many questions remain unanswered, authorities have ruled out terrorism or anything nefarious.
“We haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack,” said Maryland governor Wes Moore.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the cause of the crash.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Maryland.Credit: AP
Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the board would examine the ship, its owner, operators and other crew members, as well as look into the bridge and its structure.
“But right now, it’s about people,” she said. “It’s about families and addressing the needs of those that were impacted. That’s the focus.”
Federal Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “This is no ordinary bridge – this is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure.”
“It has been part of the skyline of this region for longer than many of us have been alive.
“So the path to normalcy will not be easy, will not be quick, will not be inexpensive. But we will rebuild together.”
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Source Agencies
