“Between the mayday and the collapse we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars could not end up on the bridge, which saved lives in a very very heroic way,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
A cargo ship accidentally hit a bridge piling in Baltimore and most of the bridge and the highway it held plummetted into the water. A detailed account of the moments before disaster struck showed how the crew of more than 20 people reportedly tried to put the ship in reverse.
The 95,000-ton container ship, Dali, reportedly “lost power and propulsion” before veering into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, triggering the collapse.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore described how a mayday from the container ship just before impact alerted authorities to halt traffic heading towards the bridge.
“Between the mayday and the collapse we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars could not end up on the bridge, which saved lives in a very very heroic way,” Moore said.
Several vehicles, including an 18-wheeler, managed to make it across the bridge moments before the collapse.
However, an eight-man construction crew filling potholes on the bridge was stranded. Their vehicles plummeted into the river below. Six people from the construction crew are still missing.
“There was a dump truck, a pickup truck, a large truck, and a Nissan car on the bridge at the time of collapse,” a fire dispatcher said.
Two men were pulled from the water, one was unhurt and the other was in critical condition.
President Joe Biden spoke out about the disaster.
“Everything so far indicated this was a terrible accident. At this time we have no other indication, no other reason to believe that there is any intentional act here,” Biden said.
The FBI is saying the bridge collapse appears to be an accident.
“There is no specific or credible information to suggest that there are ties to terrorism in this incident,” authorities said.
Video shows the ship losing power for 30 seconds as it drifted towards the bridge. When power was restored, it was too late to prevent the collision.
There are indications that the ship’s 22-man crew made desperate efforts to prevent the disaster, apparently trying to force the ship’s powerful engines into reverse, but the momentum of the giant vessel was too strong.
“While it is known to be possible that ships could potentially hit the structures and the support of bridges that are built over water, very seldom is it expected to hit dead-on as it appeared to happen in this case,” bridge designer Nehemiah Mabry tells Inside Edition. “The structures are not designed to withstand this type of impact.”
The river’s water temperature was 48 degrees, cold enough to cause hypothermia.
