Mayor says rescue efforts are under way after vessel crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending vehicles into water

A portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed after a large boat collided with it early on Tuesday morning, sending multiple vehicles into the water.

At about 1.30am, a vessel crashed into the bridge, catching fire before sinking and causing multiple vehicles to fall into the water below, according to a video posted on X.

“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.

Matthew West, a petty officer first class for the coastguard in Baltimore, told the New York Times that the coastguard received a report of an impact at 1.27am ET. West said the Dali, a 948ft (29 metres) Singapore-flagged cargo ship, had hit the bridge, which is part of Interstate 695.

  • @JASN_DE
    24•7 months ago

    Those constructions rely on all parts being where they are, otherwise the whole thing collapses. You’d need a different kind of bridge for the single stretches to be independent.

    • @aeronmelon
      6•7 months ago

      It’s bad enough that the transportation infrastructure is falling apart across the country due to poor maintenance. But when the bridge was built in the 1970s, I don’t think container ships that big even existed. It’s the same problem with old roads and modern cars or old airports and modern jets.

      I hope that whatever replaces the Key Bridge is designed to fail in segments and take a good beating before it does.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•7 months ago

        That would be extremely expensive. I think that money would be better spent toward getting ships to not hit the bridge at all.