Baltimore bridge collapse: Are there any casualties? What caused the accident?

It’s a tragic Tuesday in Baltimore, United States. In the early hours, a major bridge – Francis Scott Key Bridge – in the American city collapsed into the Patapsco River after a container ship crashed into it.

The bridge snapped and plunged into the freezing river water around 1.30 am Eastern Time (ET) along with vehicles and people. A massive search operation is underway.

The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, declared a state of emergency early Tuesday.

What happened in Baltimore?

In the wee hours of Tuesday, a Singapore-flagged container ship, Dali, crashed into a concrete pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Within seconds almost the entire bridge collapsed, sending multiple vehicles and people plunging into what officials said was roughly 50 feet of frigid water below, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP).

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A video shows the moment the bridge fell into the water. CNN analysis shows that the ship’s lights flickered and it veered off course before it hit the bridge.

Are there any casualties?

The search operation is on for at least seven people but Baltimore’s fire chief said that the number of missing people could change.

Some reports say that as many as 20 people could have fallen into the river.

Two people have been saved from the water so far, Baltimore fire department head James Wallace said. One was unhurt, but the other was seriously injured and has been rushed to hospital.

Michael Schwartzberg, a spokesperson for the University of Maryland Medical Center, told CNN, “The R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center received one patient from this incident. They are still in the process of being triaged/ evaluated.”

The lights from multiple vehicles can be seen on the bridge in the CCTV footage seconds before the collapse. Some contractors were working on the bridge at the time, Maryland officials said.

Wallace said sonar has found vehicles submerged in the water, but he could not say how many. According to Baltimore officials, at least seven vehicles fell into the water

The managers of the Dali, Synergy Marine Group, said that none of the crew, including its two pilots, were injured.

Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s supports in Baltimore. Rescuers are searching for multiple people in the water. WJLA via AP

What do we know about the rescue operations?

A search and rescue operation involving divers, boats, aircraft and sophisticated sonar and infrared equipment is underway.

Authorities are carrying out search and rescue operations using sonar and infrared technologies and drones, said Wallace. “It is an active search and rescue situation,” the fire chief said.

Experts say that water temperatures in the river could be dangerous for people. Water temperatures in Baltimore Harbour near the site of the bridge collapse are currently reported between 46 and 48 degrees Fahrenheit ((7.8 degrees to 8.9 degrees Celsius). This is dangerous for people who are submerged in it and who “aren’t prepared for what the sudden exposure can do to your body and brain,” according to a cold water safety website from the National Weather Service, reports CNN.

As the sun came up, dive operations started. The waters are reportedly choppy, which is going to make the rescuer’s job more difficult, reports the BBC.

What caused the accident?

We don’t yet know though officials have said repeatedly that there is “no indication” of terrorism, reports AP.

CCTV footage shows the ship going dark twice in the minutes before, possibly indicating some kind of power failure on board. Synergy Marine Gro

The vessel, Dali, reportedly veered off the course and collided into the bridge. WJLA via AP

up said the cause “has yet to be determined”.

There are “no indications” the collision was an intentional act, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday. “We are closely monitoring the tragic situation unfolding as a result of a containership colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Our thoughts are with the families of the missing and injured,” Mayorkas wrote on social media.

An unclassified memo from the government agency CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has confirmed that the vessel “lost propulsion” and collided with “a supporting tower of the bridge”, reports the BBC.

Maryland Governor Moore said that the ship was moving towards the bridge at a “very rapid speed’. He said crews called a “mayday”, an emergency signal, but the vessel’s speed appeared to be too fast to avoid the incident, reports the BBC.

However, he said the distress call did ensure more cars were stopped from crossing the bridge, averting greater disaster. “These people are heroes,” he said. “They saved lives last night.”

Some experts suggested the bridge’s main support structures may not have been properly protected to withstand a collision by such a large vessel.

“The significant momentum of this massive cargo vessel, especially when laden with cargo, would have been considerable upon impact,” said Professor Toby Mottram, a structural engineer at the University of Warwick.

“It’s evident that the pier couldn't withstand the impact energy.... The extent of the damage to the bridge superstructure appears disproportionate to the cause, a matter for future investigation,” he added.

What do we know about the ship involved?

The Dali was scheduled to sail on shipping company Maersk’s route to Sri Lanka, the Danish company’s website showed.

The registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG data show. The ship is 948 feet (289 meters) long and was stacked high with containers, reports Reuters.

The Dali cargo ship was involved in an “incident” at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016, port authorities confirmed to AP.

A collapsed span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water, as seen from Pasadena. The bridge carries 11.3 million vehicles a year. AP

What do we know about the bridge that collapsed?

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a four-lane structure that sits 185 feet above the river. It opened in 1977 and crosses the Patapsco River, where US national anthem author Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” in 1814 after witnessing the British defeat at the Battle of Baltimore and the British bombing of Fort McHenry, reports Reuters.

The bridge carries 11.3 million vehicles a year, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority, on the I-695 highway that circles Baltimore, also known as the Baltimore Beltway.

With inputs from agencies