27-3-2024 (BALTIMORE) A massive recovery operation is underway in Baltimore after authorities suspended search efforts for six construction workers who went missing when a cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, triggering a catastrophic collapse.
The harrowing incident unfolded in the early hours of Sunday when the Singapore-flagged Dali, a 95,000-tonne container vessel, lost propulsion while departing the city’s bustling harbor. Despite the crew’s frantic attempts to drop anchor, the powerless ship careered into the bridge’s main support, sheering through the 45-year-old steel structure.
Trapped on the span as it buckled were a crew of road workers conducting overnight pothole repairs. Dash cam footage captured the horrifying moment their vehicles were sent plummeting 40 feet into the inky waters of the Patapsco River amid a tangle of crumpled girders and debris.
As a massive multi-agency response unfolded, two individuals were pulled from the freezing waters in the frantic initial hours – one in critical condition. But after an intensive 36-hour search operation failed to locate any of the six remaining missing workers, officials were forced to make the agonizing decision to transition to a recovery mission late on Monday evening.
“Based on the length of time…the water temperature…at this point, we do not believe we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath somberly informed reporters, her voice thick with emotion.
The catastrophe has left Baltimore’s bustling Inner Harbor completely impassable to maritime traffic – the mangled skeleton of the fallen bridge now forming an impenetrable blockade severing the city’s vital maritime artery to the Chesapeake Bay.
Next day morning after smashing into the bridge while sailing out of Baltimore Harbor
Dali, a Singapore vessel, was on its way to Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/JaFoh2DPd6
— Karthik Reddy (@bykarthikreddy) March 27, 2024
While alternative routes exist for motorists, the incident threatens to create substantial ripple effects on already-strained supply chains along the U.S. East Coast. The Port of Baltimore serves as a critical national hub for automotive imports, coal exports and numerous other commercial goods.
Speaking from the White House, President Joe Biden pledged federal assistance to help Maryland undertake the daunting task of not only recovering the missing workers, but clearing the wreckage and ultimately reconstructing the iconic bridge first opened in 1977.
“We’re going to work with our partners in Congress to make sure the state gets the support it needs,” Biden stated solemnly.
