Baltimore's Key Bridge Collapses After Being Struck

CallMeKate

CallMeKate

Well-known Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic US
What a nightmare I just saw unfolding. Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has collapsed after being struck by a cargo/container ship. There is a video from a livestream of the bridge and it's horrifying. Hard to find the exact spot on the long stream, but I did. Fortunately it wasn't at a time when the bridge was loaded with vehicles, but some did end up in the water. There were also construction crews working on the bridge when it went down. :cry:

Anyone here live around Baltimore? Morning commute will be terrible... wasn't someone just there? @911 ... are you still in Baltimore?

EDIT: After I watched that livestream, someone has posted a short video from point of impact.

 

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Update says they are using sonar to locate at least 7 cars that had been on the bridge and are "missing"... divers are also working frantically. It is being called a dire emergency and a mass casualty event. And I can't help but think that it's this bad happening at 1:30 a.m.... if it had been when there was heavy traffic... :(
 
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OMG! This looks like something you see in a disaster movie! I really hope people somehow survived! My husband and I used to go to Baltimore often because two of his sons lived there, but I don't remember crossing that bridge. Not only will this be a commuter's nightmare, but it impacts commerce.
 

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OneEyedDiva said:
OMG! This looks like something you see in a disaster movie! I really hope people somehow survived! My husband and I used to go to Baltimore often because two of his sons lived there, but I don't remember crossing that bridge. Commuting will definitely be a nightmare.
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I would have never imagined that so much of it would go down even after a direct hit like that. I'd think a section of it... but that was surreal. The bridge is from the 1970s. I sure hope there are other bridges close to there... it's not the type of thing that can be repaired quickly!
 
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CallMeKate said:
I would have never imagined that so much of it would go down even after a direct hit like that. I'd think a section of it... but that was surreal. The bridge is from the early 1970s. I sure hope there are other bridges close to there... it's not the type of thing that can be repaired quickly!
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You're right. That the whole thing collapsed is astonishing. Well, this is a perfect example of why more needs to be allocated for infrastructure purposes. We've got so many key things that need updating, reinforcing and the like. I'm watching Make It Out Alive on Paramount+. I can only watch a little at a time because it is harrowing. How people survived major natural disasters, a different on each episode, is covered. The episode I'm on now is about the 1989 San Francisco quake during which a major two tier, concrete bridge collapsed. Of course there were casualties but also miraculous stories of survival. I pray for a miracle for people who were on that Baltimore bridge.
 
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CallMeKate said:
What a nightmare I just saw enfolding. Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has collapsed after being struck by a cargo/container ship. There is a video from a livestream of the bridge and it's horrifying. Hard to find the exact spot on the long stream, but I did. Fortunately it wasn't at a time when the bridge was loaded with vehicles, but some did end up in the water. There were also construction crews working on the bridge when it went down. :cry:

Anyone here live around Baltimore? Morning commute will be terrible... wasn't someone just there? @911 ... are you still in Baltimore?

EDIT: After I watched that livestream, someone has posted a short video from point of impact.
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I don’t go over the Key Bridge on the way to the airport. I have been over it many times. It is supposedly where Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem.
 
This is a terrible tragedy. Did they not have time to stop traffic from entering the bridge. It appears they were headed for the trestle for several minutes before striking it. The Harbor Master was onboard and I would have thought he would take precautionary measures and stop traffic the first time they lost power.

I don’t know how their anchor works, if it is by power or can also be dropped mechanically. If the ship is drifting without power, I would think they would have shut down and if possible, drop anchor and get local police to stop all traffic from crossing the bridge.

I know it’s Monday morning quarterbacking, but they must have some type of training or a check off list of what to do in this type of situation. A lot of questions will need to be answered. I’m sure we’ll learn more as the investigation continues.
 
There should have been a tug boat-directing the cargo ship, -but I heard that tugs add another expense to these cargo ships. They are not a requirement.

And it seems that with so much new technology , these large ships could begin to require a sonar system or some sort of alarm when they are off course, but then again ,the ship lost power, and preventive measures all seem to rely on electric power.

They need a lot of prayer, the families of the injured or deceased and certainly the police/Fire/EMS services and the Coast Guard and divers.

It is an horrific site to watch.
 
I'm waiting to hear what became of the "at least 20 person construction crew" that was supposed to be working on the bridge... the numbers aren't reflecting them as missing or recovered... didn't seem like there would have been enough time for them to evac. Or maybe they saw that it was inevitable and got off in time. Hope so!
 
CallMeKate said:
I'm waiting to hear what became of the "at least 20 person construction crew" that was supposed to be working on the bridge... the numbers aren't reflecting them as missing or recovered... didn't seem like there would have been enough time for them to evac. Or maybe they saw that it was inevitable and got off in time. Hope so!
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There at most risk especially if they were working on the bridge itself and not the road. They would've been above or below the road part which means more time to get away.
 
This bridge is a "critical failure structure" bridge, meaning if you take out one pillar, there is no redundancy, the bridge will fail. Knowing that, and having huge ships sailing near the pillars, and NOT having any deflecting piers to protect the pillars, is just waiting for this to happen. The same thing happened with a Tampa Bay bridge, which now has huge cement barriers to protect the pillars of the new bridge.
 
Sources say that the ship was under its own power, which negates the need for tugs. There should have been a Chesapeake Bay pilot on board, a clear loss of power, belching black smoke, indicative of engine problems . The port anchor appears to have been dropped, but would not immediately halt the ship, as the anchor dragged along the bottom of the Bay.
 

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