Steve Ruark/AP
Part of a Baltimore bridge serving as each a necessary freeway artery and a hub for transport alongside the East Coast collapsed early Tuesday morning after a container ship crashed into it, sending folks into the water.
The collision has spurred a big search-and-rescue operation, and it was unclear how many individuals had been within the Patapsco River. Nevertheless, Kevin Cartwight, the Baltimore Metropolis Hearth Division’s director of communications, instructed NPR that seven folks had fallen into the river and had been being looked for. He referred to as the collision and collapse a “creating mass casualty occasion,” The Related Press reported.
Emergency personnel have been dispatched to the scene, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott stated.
The ship that collided with the bridge was the Dali, a 948-foot container ship, U.S. Coast Guard public info officer Matthew West instructed NPR. The Singapore-flagged ship left Baltimore at 1 a.m. and was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, in line with MarineTraffic, a marine knowledge platform.
Earlier than the collapse, visitors was closed in each lanes, the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.
MAJOR BALTIMORE TRAFFIC ALERT: AVOID I-695 southeast hall. I-695 Key Bridge collapse as a result of ship strike. Lively scene. Use I-95 or I-895. #baltraffic #mdtraffic
— MDTA (@TheMDTA) March 26, 2024
The bridge is a part of I-695, an arterial of Interstate 95, a significant freeway working north-south alongside the Jap seaboard of the U.S.
The 1.6-mile lengthy bridge, named for the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” opened in 1977 and is situated about 45 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
This can be a creating story.
NPR’s Dave Mistich contributed to this report.