Serious accident in Baltimore , Maryland, where the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in just 20 seconds after being struck by the Singapore-flagged freighter Dali .
For now, the provisional toll speaks of 6 missing, while two people have been rescued, one of whom is in serious condition. These were around twenty workers who were repairing the road surface of the bridge at the time of the accident, but there were also at least seven vehicles, including a truck, which fell 60 meters into the Patapsco river below. The accident occurred at half past one in the morning: over 30 thousand vehicles pass through during the day.
The searches, which involve boats and helicopters, are in a desperate race against time, hampered by strong currents . Another source of concern is the water temperature, around 3 degrees, with the risk of hypothermia for any survivors.
All members of the crew of the merchant ship that caused the collapse, which later sank, were saved . There were two commanders on board the ship. The central arch into which the Dali freighter hit has an opening of 366 metres, the third longest in the world. And while the governor of Maryland Wes Moore declared a state of emergency, the words of the mayor of Baltimore, Brendon Scott, arrived at a press conference: «An inconceivable tragedy , we never thought it could collapse. It looked like a scene from an action movie,” he commented.
Meanwhile, the possible causes of the accident are being investigated. The Dali ship, driven by local pilots, appears to have lost power and gone off course just before impact. He had also sent an SOS and dropped anchor into the sea, but perhaps he was traveling too fast to change direction. “A power problem,” the Maryland authorities reported. Although the FBI is participating in the investigation, the authorities have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack. "From the first investigations it appears that it was a terrible accident, there are no indications of intentional acts", confirmed Joe Biden speaking live on TV from the White House after having ordered all federal resources to be made available to deal with the emergency response, from the research to the rapid reactivation of the port. The president also promised a visit as soon as possible and that the government would cover all reconstruction costs. Direct and indirect damages are estimated at several billion dollars. Car traffic is already at a standstill and the port, one of the main ones in the country, has stopped.
The Francis Scott-Key Bridge, which carries an average of 11 million vehicles a year, opened in 1977 : at the time of its inauguration, the New York Times wrote that it would provide motorists traveling along the East Coast with It uses "an attractive alternative" to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel which is perpetually clogged with traffic. The bridge cost $141 million at the time, the equivalent of $735 million today.
(Unioneonline)
