How Baltimore Bridge Collapse?

What Is Known About The Baltimore Bridge Collapse?

A cargo ship collided with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse and possibly killing six construction workers. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB ) boarded the ship early Wednesday morning to recover information from its electronic equipment and documents, while divers searched for the bodies of the missing workers. Here's what we know so far about the collapse:

What exactly happened?

The operator of the cargo ship Daly sent out a distress signal shortly before the accident early Tuesday morning, indicating that the ship had lost power. However, the 300-meter (985-foot) long ship struck a bridge support 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) away at a speed of 8 knots (about 15 kilometers per hour). This caused the bridge to collapse in a matter of seconds and sink into the water.

Eight construction workers were filling a hole in the bridge when the accident occurred. Two people were rescued shortly after the bridge collapsed. Divers recovered the bodies of two other people, and the remaining four were presumed dead. Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Browner Construction, said they were working in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed. Workers began carefully removing the first twisted piece of steel from the collapsed Baltimore Bridge.

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Could tugboats have helped prevent the tragic collapse of the Baltimore bridge ? The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that the ship lost power after "routine engine maintenance" in port.

An inspection of the Daly in a Chilean port last June found problems with the ship's "propulsion and auxiliary machinery," according to the European Maritime Information System (Equasis). The defect affected instruments and thermometers, but website records did not provide further details.

A "standard inspection" conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard in New York in September found no deficiencies, according to Equasis.

Roberto Leon, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, said the force of the ship hitting the abutment was considerable because of its weight. Leon explained that the abutment can withstand bending shocks, but cannot absorb the energy generated by such a large vessel.

Federal inspectors rated the 47-year-old bridge in good condition last June. However, experts said its structure appeared to lack the necessary protection needed to withstand the impact.

"If a ship of this size hit the abutment without adequate protection, the bridge would have had little impact," Leon said. Federal and state investigators said the incident appeared to be accidental.

How many people are missing?

Two bridge construction workers were rescued. As of Thursday, the bodies of four of the other six workers were still missing. Rescuers found the bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorian Roñal Castillo Cabrera, 26, on Wednesday. They were found in a truck that sank about 25 feet (about 7.6 meters) underwater.

According to diplomats from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, the two workers arrived in the Maryland area from the three countries.

The worker, Menor Yasser Suazo Sandoval, 38, came to the United States from Honduras nearly 20 years ago. His brother described him as a hard-working, adventurous husband and father of two children.

One of the workers was Maynor Yasser Suazo Sandoval, 38, who arrived in the United States from Honduras nearly two decades ago. His brother described him as an adventurous, hardworking husband and father of two. Salvadoran Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco said in an article published in the X-Newspaper on Wednesday that Salvadoran citizen Miguel Luna was among the missing workers.

The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., a Singapore-based company, which reported that all crew members, including two pilots, have been found and no casualties have been reported.

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The warning from the ship allowed authorities to restrict traffic on the bridge. In addition, the accident occurred at 1:30 a.m., well before the morning rush hour. It is estimated that in 2019, the bridge averaged 30,800 vehicles per day.

What impact could this have? The bridge collapse could be a logistical disaster, paralyzing maritime traffic at the Port of Baltimore, halting both freight and passenger traffic. The port is a major shipping hub on the East Coast . The bridge spans the Patapsco River, which large cargo ships use to reach the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.

The Daly was traveling from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, flying the Singapore flag, according to marine traffic data.

President Joe Biden stated that he expects the federal government to cover the entire cost of reconstruction. His administration has approved $60 million in emergency federal aid for debris removal and other upfront costs.

"This is not going to take hours, it's not going to take days, it's not going to take weeks. We have a long way to go," Maryland Governor Wes Moore said Thursday.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Cynthia Oldham reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a commercial salvage company were inspecting the site as part of the rescue plan.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shannon Gilreath said Friday that the initial goal is to reopen the channel and remove the ship. The Maryland Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard also inspected the damage Friday morning. According to Moore, teams battled strong winds to determine how to safely cut the 3,000- to 4,000-ton beam into lighter components so it could be removed using four heavy cranes provided by the U.S. Navy.

The governor expects 10 tugboats, seven floating cranes, nine barges, eight rescue boats , and five Coast Guard vessels to be launched in the coming weeks.

Judah Levine, director of research at Freightos, a global freight booking platform, said the collapse is unlikely to have a major impact on global trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container ships, but is more important for cargo such as farm machinery and cars.

However, about 2,400 members of the International Dockers Association Local 333 could be out of work until maritime traffic resumes, according to Scott Cowan, president of Local 333 of the International Dockers Association. Cowan added that union leaders are working with elected officials to get compensation for the dockworkers.

Authorities also have to deal with water contamination, as some of the ship's 56 containers carrying hazardous materials have ruptured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that these hazardous materials included corrosives, flammable materials, and lithium-ion batteries. However, the Key Bridge Joint Information Center stated on Thursday that there is no immediate environmental threat, and air monitoring has not detected any volatile organic compounds . Adam Ortiz, administrator for the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's Mid-Atlantic region, stated on Friday that ongoing monitoring has not detected any signs of harmful substances in the water.

How often does this happen? Between 1960 and 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, resulting in a total of 342 fatalities, according to a 2018 report by the International Waterborne Infrastructure Association.

Eighteen of those bridge collapses occurred in the United States.

One of them occurred in 2002, when a barge collided with the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River in Webers Falls, Oklahoma, causing a vehicle to fall into the water. The accident killed 14 people and injured 11.

In 2001, a tugboat collided with a barge on the Queen Isabel Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a section of the bridge to fall 24 meters into the bay, killing eight people.