Worthy Christian News > US News > Six Feared Dead In Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Governor Urges Prayers

Six Feared Dead In Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Governor Urges Prayers

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BALTIMORE, USA (Worthy News) – Authorities said Tuesday that emergency workers were suspending the search for six people missing after a major bridge collapsed in the city of Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland.

“Based on the length of time that we’ve gone in this search… (and) the water temperature… at this point, we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath.

The warning followed Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s appeals for prayers for the loved ones and the victims as well as those involved in search and rescue operations after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed when it was hit by a cargo ship that had a power issue.

Video captured the moment the large cargo vessel slammed into a support column at 1:28 am Eastern Standard Time, causing the entire span to fall into the water below.

The 948-foot (288.95 meters) vessel, as long as three football fields placed end to end, had experienced a momentary loss of propulsion and dropped anchors as part of emergency procedures before impact, its management company reported.

The Singapore-flagged Dali, owned by Grace Ocean, rammed into one of the pillars of the bridge, officials said, adding that all 22 crew members aboard the vessel were accounted for.

While six people on the bridge remained missing, two were rescued from the cold water, including one injured and hospitalized, officials said. “There are no signs of terrorism,” Moore told reporters.

MAYDAY MESSAGE

Before the accident, the vessel had radioed a “mayday” emergency message, which investigators said prevented a higher death toll as the bridge was quickly closed off.

Authorities said they had been dealing with “a pitch-black disaster” as the tragedy unfolded early Tuesday.

Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, named after the poet who wrote the lyrics to the U.S. national anthem, used to carry around 34,000 vehicles a day across one of the busiest harbors in the United States, officials said.

The 2,632.3 meters (1.6 miles) long steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge, which opened in 1977, spanned the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor as part of the crucial Interstate 695 Highway in Baltimore.

Its collapse, within seconds of being struck by a container ship, raised questions and highlighted broader concerns about the state of American infrastructure. “The extent of the damage to the bridge superstructure appears disproportionate to the cause, a matter for future investigation,” said Toby Mottram, structural engineering professor at the University of Warwick.

“It’s evident that the pier couldn’t withstand the impact energy, leading to its failure and subsequent collapse of the steel truss and reinforced concrete deck superstructure,” he noticed.

It was likely to cause significant economic damage for as long as it continued to block shipping in the Port of Baltimore.

DRAMATIC DESTRUCTION

The bridge’s dramatic destruction shut the port for maritime traffic, which last year accounted for more than 52 million tons of foreign cargo worth some $80 billion, Moore’s office said.

Baltimore is the deepest harbor in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and handles the highest volume of autos and light trucks in the United States, as well as the most significant quantities of imported sugar and gypsum.

It generates around $3.3 billion in total personal income each year, according to the Maryland State Archives, and brings in almost $400 million in annual tax revenues.

Alongside its use as a major port for so-called roll-on/roll-off container shipping, the Port of Baltimore also serves as a cruise terminal.

Over 50 ocean carriers use the port annually, making almost 1,800 trips annually.

It is the ninth-busiest U.S. port regarding foreign cargo handling and foreign cargo value and is directly responsible for more than 15,000 jobs while supporting almost 140,000 more, according to official data.

“We’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers,” U.S. President Joe Biden pledged in a brief address from the White House.

REBUILDING BRIDGE

“I’m directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said.

It was a setback for the president, who had pledged to invest $110 billion in extra funding to repair roads and bridges and support major transformational projects across the country. “This is gonna take some time,” he said about the rebuilding of the collapsed bridge in Baltimore.

The closure also threatened to disrupt supplies of goods ranging from coal to sugar. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Eastern seaboard, experts say.

This wasn’t the first time the ship that destroyed the bridge caused damage after revelations, as it was also involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium.
The Antwerp port authorities said the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016, as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.

A 2016 inspection of the vessel conducted in Antwerp found it had a structural issue, including “hull damage impairing its seaworthiness,” reported Equasis, a public database for the shipping industry.

Yet Maryland’s governor pledged that the state would restore its iconic bridge in a way that remembers the victims.

But for now, a ship is wedged into debris from what was the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Some construction workers were on the bridge when it collapsed, Baltimore’s Mayor Brandon Scott said, adding that the incident is “an unspeakable tragedy.”