Stunned Baltimore residents have shared their shock over the “unbelievable” moment the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a 900-foot shipping container this morning.
‘It felt like an earthquake. It sounded like a big thunderclap… the whole house was shaking, like my house was collapsing,” said local man John, who lives near the bridge. WJZ.
“I heard a lot of fire apparatus, a lot of police, saw a lot of police boats leaving… it’s just unbelievable.”
“I’ve been in this neighborhood for 57 years, I remembered when they built this bridge,” he added. “I can’t believe it’s gone.”
Alex Delsordo, owner of the Hard Yacht cafe in the nearby marina, told the BBC that one of his employees heard the bridge collapse at around 1.30am.
“He said it sounded like a very big, long rumble, like a train was going through it,” he told the broadcaster.
He added that rescue teams, who have worked desperately for the past four hours to save the lives of at least seven people believed to have plunged into the icy 47F (8C) water below, have been at the cafe since about 3am were refueling.
Initial reports said there were about 20 construction workers and as many as a dozen cars on the bridge when it was hit.
‘It felt like an earthquake. It sounded like a big clap of thunder… the whole house was shaking, like my house was collapsing,” John, who lives near the bridge, told WJZ.
The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River earlier Tuesday morning
Stunning footage shows the moment the ship plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending the colossal steel structure plunging into the Patapsco River, shortly before 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Michael Brown told NBC News that his neighbor believed an earthquake caused the dramatic collapse
Another shocked resident told WJZ: ‘I was there yesterday. To see the bridge gone, knowing I was on that bridge less than 10 hours ago, is devastating.”
There was speculation about some of the possible consequences of the bridge collapse.
“This will be catastrophic for many reasons,” he told the newspaper. “Number one: the port is blocked. Secondly, we are no longer receiving deliveries of new cars at the moment.
“Amazon is just across the river and you can forget about your packages for same-day and next-day delivery.”
The loud bang of the suddenly collapsing bridge left the locals stunned and confused. One resident said he thought his neighbor was playing an April Fool’s joke on him when he heard the news.
Michael Brown told it NBC News his neighbor thought an earthquake had caused the dramatic collapse.
‘I can not believe it. It’s a major thoroughfare here in the area, but also for the port… hopefully everyone involved today is doing well.”
Earlier this morning, two people were pulled from the water, one of whom is in serious condition.
“There was another individual who was transported to a local trauma center and is in very serious condition,” said James Wallace, chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department.
The first fire brigade unit arrived on the scene at around 1.50am after receiving a call at 1.30am that the bridge had collapsed.
In the moments before the collision, video showed the ship appearing to lose power twice and billowing black smoke before apparently being unable to turn away from the pier.
Mr Wallace told the media they do not yet have information on whether there was a problem with the ship, which left the Seagirt Marine Terminal around 12.30pm before turning south-east and heading under the Francis Scott Key Bridge and outwards. of the city.
The 299-meter ship, which was headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka, is seen on tracking video stabilizing and slowing down in the middle of the Patapsco River before colliding with the bridge at Fort Carroll, causing it to collapse.
Footage of the approach shows the ship appearing to suddenly lose power before partially recovering during the approach.
The ship is then seen billowing black smoke into the night sky before losing power again and heading towards one of the structural supports that hold the bridge up.
Upon impact with the structure, the ship appears to lose power for a third time as the bridge collapses dramatically around it, first breaking around the support before breaking in the center and losing balance on the eastern pier.
The fire chief told media there was “absolutely no indications” that the crash was intentional or part of a terrorist plot.
“Our criminal intelligence is working with the FBI and other federal and state agencies to obtain all the intelligence we have,” he said.
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. posted on X that, in light of the incident, all lanes in both directions are closed and traffic is being diverted.
Scott described the collapse as an “unthinkable tragedy.”
‘We have to think about the families and people who have been affected, people who we have to try to find. This is where our focus should be now. “We will continue to work with every part of government to do everything we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy,” he said.
“You would never think you would see the Key Bridge physically collapse like this,” he added.
“It looked like something out of an action movie.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has since spoken with Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Mr. Scott, according to a message from the secretary on X.
Buttigieg said, “Rescue efforts remain ongoing and drivers in the Baltimore area should follow local emergency responders’ guidance on detours and responses.”
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on top of a container ship after it struck the bridge in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26, 2024.
The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after a collision with freighter Dali, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States on March 26, 2024
The ship departed from the Seagirt Marine Terminal before turning and heading for the bridge
The structure transports approximately 12 million vehicles every year (archive photo)
The Dali container ship is pictured in a file photo outside the Port of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom in September 2018
A photo showing the aftermath of the collapse as the skies begin to clear in Baltimore, the Dali can be seen on the right with many containers still intact
According to Vessel Finger and Shipwrecklog, the ship was previously involved in a collision in Antwerp, Belgium in 2016, as reported by The guard.
In clear weather, the captain and pilot on board were blamed after the bow reportedly scraped the side of the quay while leaving port, causing damage to the hull.
Baltimore’s 2.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge, part of I-695, crosses the Patapsco River at the Port of Baltimore.
The main span of the truss bridge, built in 1977, is, at 4,000 feet, the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world.
The structure transports approximately 12 million vehicles annually. It carries the Baltimore Beltway/Interstate 695 across the river.