Ship sent ‘mayday’ warning before Baltimore bridge disaster as officials scrambled to halt traffic: ‘Saved lots of lives’
The container ship that smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore sent a “mayday” warning that it had lost power before the disaster, officials said Tuesday.
Quick-thinking authorities at the bridge were able to stop cars from crossing the 1.6-mile span, an act that “saved lots of lives,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
“The ship issued a mayday loss of power. The workers on the bridge halted traffic right before impact. They saved lots of lives,” Moore said at a press conference.
However, six people still remain missing after multiple vehicles plunged into the chilly waters of the Patapsco River as the bridge crumbled, its steel arches and roadway tumbling down.
The missing were all part of the same construction crew that was patching potholes in the road.
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Two people have been rescued by first responders — one in critical condition. Divers were still searching for possible survivors in the river through the morning Tuesday.
Horrifying footage shows the bridge collapsing after the 980-foot Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel heading to Sri Lanka, crashed into the central part of the structure around 1:40 a.m. shortly after it left the Port of Baltimore.
The massive container ship, capable of carrying nearly 130,000 tons of cargo and supplies, simply overwhelmed the protections designed into the 47-year-old Key Bridge.
“The container ship is as wide as the bridge was tall. The scales are almost similar. It isn’t a little boat,” Ben Schafer, a structural engineering professor at John’s Hopkins University, told WTOP.
The container ship “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port, and crew members warned officials of a possible collision, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency obtained by ABC News.
Everything you need to know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse in Baltimore
- The Dali, the Singapore-flagged container ship that smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and destroyed it early Tuesday, reportedly lost propulsion and tried to warn officials that it was going to crash, according to a report.
- Six people were unaccounted for, according to authorities. Two people were pulled from the river by rescuers.
- Seven vehicles were missing after falling from the 1.6-mile-long span. Officials are using sonar technology to find the vehicles.
- Videos show power on the ship flickering off, and then on again, shortly before the crash. Watch footage of the bridge’s collapse here.
- A Baltimore resident described how the horrifying collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday caused his entire house to feel like it was falling down.
- The Dali was also involved in a collision while leaving the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
Videos show power on the ship flickering off, and then on again, shortly before the crash.
Moore confirmed at a press conference that the crew of the ship reported losing power before the collision.
“The vessel notified Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an allision [collision on the water] with the bridge was possible,” the report said.
“The vessel struck the bridge, causing a complete collapse.”
Two pilots aboard the ship, as well as 22 Indian crew members, “have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries,” said Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, the company operating the vessel.
The company said it is investigating the cause of the disaster and cooperating with authorities.
“This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Mayor Brandon Scott said from the scene soon after a state of emergency was declared.
“Never would you think that you could see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie.”
At least seven vehicles were assumed missing after falling from the 1.6-mile-long span, the Baltimore City Fire Department said in an update just after 6 a.m. as officials used sonar technology to find vehicles.
“We are still very much in a search-and-rescue posture,” Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace said at a news conference early Tuesday as rescuers were “battling darkness.”
Construction crew members were doing concrete and deck repair at the time of the crash, Paul Wiedefeld, secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority, confirmed.
Although there was a strong odor of diesel, it was not immediately clear if there had been a major fuel spill, officials said.
The temperature in the river was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Baltimore City Fire Department communications chief Kevin Cartwright called the incident a “developing mass casualty event.”
“The dive and rescue team has arrived on scene to locate the individuals,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright said emergency services were “trying to rescue and recover” people believed to have fallen into the water.
“This is a dire emergency,” he added.
Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to get federal resources deployed. The FBI was also on the scene.
The calamity was filmed and uploaded to a YouTube livestream video, which showed the structure collapsing into the water.
The US Coast Guard and the Maryland Transportation Authority confirmed the crash but provided no further details.
“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority wrote on X.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said on X, “Rescue efforts are underway. Please pray for those impacted.”
The department said the surrounding body of water was filled with diesel fuel.
The Singapore-flagged container ship that struck the bridge, the Dali, had left Baltimore just after 1 a.m. and was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to the maritime data platform MarineTraffic.
Multiple Coast Guard boats marked as search and rescue vessels were circling the vessel around 3 a.m.
All lanes were closed in both directions following the incident, the Maryland Transportation Authority said.
Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
With Post wires
