Seven vital minutes that saved the lives of so many in Baltimore bridge collapse
Video shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsing after a cargo ship smashed into it, with six people still missing.
A huge cargo ship that lost power issued a mayday call moments before ploughing into a bridge in Baltimore, saving the lives of so many amid the catastrophic collapse.
The call from crew just before the massive collision around 1.30am on Tuesday allowed officials to halt traffic onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge from both ends and evacuate the span before it collapsed.
‘By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes,’ said Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
‘They saved lives last night.’
Eight people were initially unaccounted for, but two were rescued as part of a search and rescue operation. The six still missing are construction workers who were fixing potholes on the bridge. Emergency workers on boats and helicopters are continuing to look for them.
Speaking from the White House on Tuesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said that the people who stopped traffic onto the bridge ‘undoubtedly saved lives’. The search and rescue operation ‘is our top priority’, he said.
‘I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime,’ he said of the missing.
Biden said the incident appeared to be a ‘terrible accident’ and called on Congress to support the federal government funding the ‘entire cost’ of the bridge rebuild. He added that he will plans to visit Baltimore ‘as quickly as I can’.
Cars have been detected at the bottom of Patapsco River in Baltimore where the 1.6-mile bridge collapsed in pieces after the freight ship crashed into it.
Footage shows the vessel smashing into the bridge overnight.
Battling the darkness, firefighters had to use sonar to detect the unknown number of vehicles that fell in the water after the crash.
Paul Wiedfeld, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, added in a statement that there is no one in the water who was inside a vehicle.
A wounded sailor from the ship was seen being loaded into an ambulance.
One patient refused medical assistance, while another was ‘very seriously injured’ and is currently being treated in hospital.
Earlier, it was reported that up to 20 people are believed to be missing after the crash, but the rising water is making the effort to find people more complicated.
Chief of Baltimore’s fire department James Wallace says the first unit arrived on scene at 1.50am and reported the ‘complete collapse’ of the Key Bridge.
‘Multiple people’ were reported to be on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Mr Wallace added: ‘Information is subject to change as we get more intel.’
A state of emergency has been declared across Maryland, while the White House scrambles to deploy emergency teams to assist.
Mayor Brandon M Scott and Baltimore county executive Johnny Olszewski Jr said that services were at the scene and rescue efforts were underway in the freezing water.
The main span of the steel arch-shaped construction spans the Patapsco River and the outer Baltimore Harbor.
MarineTraffic, a maritime data platform, showed that the Singapore-flagged Dali was stopped directly under the bridge.
The vessel left Baltimore at 1am and was at the beginning of a 27-day voyage to a port in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Smoke can be seen rising from the ship in the moments before colliding with one of the pillars of the bridge.
This suggests a mechanical failure on board the Dali, but the cause is yet to be determined.
The lights were also seen turning off and then on multiple times before the crash.
Manager Synergy Marine Group said in a statement that all crew members have been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.
Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, said the alarm was sounded at about 1.30am.
He said: ‘Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.’
Cartwright said it is too early to know how many people were affected but called the collapse a ‘developing mass casualty event.’
He added it appears there are ‘some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge,’ creating unsafe and unstable conditions, and that emergency responders are operating cautiously as a result.
‘This is a dire emergency,’ he said.
Metro.co.uk could not immediately confirm how many people were trapped in the water after the collapse.
Authorities are investigating apparent power failures on Dali cargo ship before it struck Key Bridge.
David McFarlane, director of Maritime Risk and Safety Consultants Ltd, told Sky News that the ‘most likely’ cause of the crash was a failure in the ship’s machinery.
US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that he has offered support to Baltimore’s mayor and Maryland’s governor.
He added: ‘Rescue efforts remain underway and drivers in the Baltimore area should follow local responder guidance on detours and response.’
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