2024-03-26 15:14:37
A cargo ship collided this morning with the ‘Key Bridge’ bridge in Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, in the eastern United States, and caused its partial collapse. There are at least seven people reported missing inside the river where searches are currently underway.
Published on: 03/26/2024 – 16:14
2 min
The Key Bridge, a major three-kilometer-long highway bridge southwest of Baltimore, about 60 kilometers from Washington, the capital, partially collapsed this evening after a cargo ship collided with one of its pillars, local authorities said. stating that the collapse of the structure would have dragged vehicles and people into the river.
Rescue teams involving human resources and materials such as drones and helicopters are looking for seven people who were dragged into the Patapsco River. Among the potential victims are workers who worked on the bridge, authorities saying that one person was taken to the hospital in “very serious condition”while a second emerged unharmed from the accident.
For its part, Maersk, a Danish company that had chartered the ‘Dali’, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship involved in the collision, reported that the boat’s crew is safe and sound.
The police, who were investigating the causes of what happened, indicated that “There is no evidence that this was a terrorist act”. Local sources say that the injured ship had issued an SOS, with Maersk admitting that it had “an electrical problem”.
After this qualified occurrence of “inconceivable tragedy” by the mayor of Baltimore, a state of emergency was declared and maritime transport to and from Baltimore, one of the busiest ports in the United States, was suspended “until further notice”.
The Port of Baltimore is considered an important infrastructure nationally. According to data from the State of Maryland, more than 52 million tons of goods from abroad passed through it last year. This port represents 15 thousand direct jobs and around 140 thousand indirect jobs.
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