Just hours before the Tuesday morning commute was to get underway, a massive cargo ship leaving Baltimore harbor lost propulsion and crashed into a support column of Baltimore’s 1.6-mile long Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a partial collapse and sending vehicles and people into the water, officials said.
The transportation disaster unfolded about 1:35 a.m., triggering a major emergency response from Baltimore police, firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard as authorities estimated that up to 20 vehicles went into the water along with several workers who were part of a maintenance team fixing potholes on the span, officials said.
“I can tell you, our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water,” Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said at a news conference early Tuesday
Wallace said dive teams were probing the water for survivors. He said the challenges to rescue crews included darkness, maneuvering through a massive and dangerous debris field and the swift current that runs through the channel.
Asked how long someone could survive in the frigid water, Wallace said, “We’re going to rely on the experts, which is our dive masters that are here, our dive team, to tell us when they believe we’ve reached that non-survivability point.”
Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the depth of the water in the area where the crash occurred is about 50 feet.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Tuesday morning that rescue crews are doing all they can to save lives.
“To the victims of this tragedy and their loved ones, all our hearts are broken,” Moore said. “In the face of heartbreak, we come together, we embrace each other.”
Moore said there was no credible evidence that the crash involved terrorism. He said it appeared to be a tragic accident.
The FBI, which arrived at the scene an hour after the incident, confirmed that no link to terrorism was involved, according to Bill DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office.
Emergency officials said eight people were initially unaccounted for and two were rescued. At least six people were still missing. The University of Maryland Medical Center said it treated one patient rescued from the bridge collapse and that person had been discharged from the hospital.
According to a Coast Guard memo obtained by ABC News, a harbor pilot and an assistant aboard the cargo ship reported the power issues that prompted multiple alarms on the bridge of the vessel and loss of propulsion. The pilots were operating the ship, not the ship’s captain, according Wiedefeld.
Officials said the container ship was moving at a speed of 8 knots, or about 9 mph, when it struck the bridge. They said the disaster could have been much worse had authorities not stopped cars from going onto the bridge.
Moore described the crash as “unprecedented.”
“To hear the words that the Key Bridge has collapsed, it’s shocking and heartbreaking,” Moore said.
All workers on the container ship were accounted for, according to the memo.
The cargo ship pilot is expected to undergo post-accident drug and alcohol testing.
Moore said there were no structural issues with the bridge, saying it was “fully up to code.”
According to a Coast Guard memo obtained by ABC News, a harbor pilot and an assistant aboard the cargo ship reported the power issues that prompted multiple alarms on the bridge of the vessel and loss of propulsion. The pilots were operating the ship, not the ship’s captain, according to Wiedefeld.
Officials said the container ship was moving at a speed of 8 knots, or about 9 mph, when it struck the bridge. They said the disaster could have been much worse had authorities not stopped cars from going onto the bridge.
Moore said there were no structural issues with the bridge, saying it was “fully up to code.”
