Minutes of tragedy in which the worst was avoided: everything that is known about the collapse of the Baltimore bridge

Victims are still being searched for in the water, which has reached sub-zero temperatures. Authorities rule out intentionality in the accident with a ship that had already caused several problems

At the time the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, almost nothing was known. There was a strange video that showed a boat, the DALI, hitting one of the pillars and the structure falling apart as if it were a sheet of paper. There was no information about victims or the cause of the accident that marked the international day. Several hours later, much remains unanswered, not least because there are still people missing in the freezing water that flows under the Baltimore bridge.

Minute by minute: the collapse (local time, plus four hours in Lisbon)

00:28: the DALI freighter left port and began moving on a long voyage to Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to Navy data analyzed by CNN;

01:24: the DALI lights flash as it passes through the Patapsco River, according to the video;

01:26: the ship begins to change course and heads towards the bridge pillar, CNN analysis shows;

01:26: the ship’s lights continue to flash;

01:27: the ship collides with the bridge, causing its almost immediate collapse, confirmed the Coast Guard, which immediately deployed personnel to the scene;

01:40: authorities begin to forward calls to firefighters. As they begin to respond, firefighters receive reports of people in the water;

01:50: The first rescue unit arrives at the scene and confirms the complete collapse of the bridge.

How many people were there?

Initial information indicated that seven people were at the scene and that they had all been reported missing. This was at 01:30 local time, and when the emergency services were receiving non-stop calls reporting that a ship had collided with the bridge.

“It’s a terrible emergency. Our focus is on rescuing people”, the director of communications for the Baltimore firefighters told the Associated Press at the same time.

At the time there was talk of “the development of a mass accident event”, and it was later confirmed that people were working on the bridge at the time of the impact. Teams of divers quickly deployed to the site.

It was later learned that the seven missing people became two people taken to the hospital and six missing. Firefighters even reported to CNN that 20 people were missing.

The worst was avoided

Even though the real dimension of the case is still unknown, one thing is certain: if it hadn’t been for a warning from the ship, the situation could have been worse.

The DALI released the anchor even before hitting the structure and after losing speed, as required by emergency procedures, according to the Port Authority of Singapore, where the flag of the ship that was in the service of the Danish Maersk was flying. In parallel, the lights blinked incessantly, a clear sign that something was not right. And it wasn’t: the crew had lost control of the vessel.

It was the loss of this propulsion, according to the authorities, that led to the loss of control of the controls, resulting in the collision.

In addition, a call made from the ship warning of the situation gave authorities time to close traffic on the bridge and prevent more cars from being there, confirmed Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

“I’m grateful that as soon as the warning came, there was an alert, which literally prevented any more cars from going onto the bridge. These people are heroes. They saved lives,” she added, reiterating that the boat had notified authorities of the loss of power and had issued a warning mayday.

Dozens of teams are on site to investigate what happened, including those from the authority that oversees transport on North American soil. NTSBC has 24 specialists, including administrators, IT professionals and even human resources.

A cargo ship with previous problems

The DALI freighter has been inspected 27 times since construction in 2015. According to data from the Electronic Navigation Quality Information System, cited by CNN, two “deficiencies” were found in these assessments.

In June 2023, in Chile, authorities reported a “deficiency” in “propulsion and auxiliary machinery”, including thermometers.

Before that, in 2016, Belgian authorities attributed the “deficiency” to “structural conditions”, speaking of “damage to the hull that affects navigation”. It was an accident in the city of Antwerp, where she hit the pier after a breakdown resulted in a strong thrust from the stern.

The last inspection was on September 9, 2023, carried out by the New York Coast Guard, which did not find any problems.

Very complicated conditions

A rescue of this size would never be difficult, but a set of factors made everything much more complicated. It was early in the morning in a city where the cold is intense for much of the year.

The divers immediately admitted that the cold, both outside and in the water, in addition to the limited visibility, put their operations at risk. The director of communications for the Baltimore fire department confirmed to CNN that authorities were working in difficult conditions, namely with the outside temperature at minus one degree.

“This happened at 01:30 with limited visibility. We are working aggressively, considering environmental and water temperatures to try to rescue people”, stated Kevin Cartwright at the beginning of the operation.

It was there that the temperature was minus one degree, but the news was worse: the person responsible said that the water would be even colder.

How important is this bridge (and the port)?

It is a “very important bridge” for the region, said CNN correspondent Gabe Cohen. A “significant” accident of this magnitude, on a 366 meter long bridge, which connects the Patapsco River to the port of Baltimore, one of the most important on the North American east coast.

With more than 52 million cargo handled in 2023, this port generated around 74 billion euros for the United States, becoming the ninth highest-earning port in 2023 in the country.

In total, this port is responsible for 15,330 direct jobs and more than 139 thousand jobs throughout Maryland. Basically, the population of Baltimore lives around the port. This is also where the majority of imported cars and vans arrive – last year alone there were 850,000. But this is also the leading port in agriculture and machinery, in addition to sugar imports and coal exports, in which it is the second most important.

With this collapse there is a threat to all operations around the site. Maersk, which had chartered the ship, has already announced the suspension of all operations along that route.

The bridge opened in 1977 and was nicknamed by the author of the American anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”. It was there that Francis Scott Key sat watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, which inspired him to write the lyrics.

The authorities’ reaction

The president of the United States wants the federal government to pay the costs of rebuilding the Baltimore bridge. That was one of Joe Biden’s strong messages, as he promised to do everything he could to help the city, including moving federal funds.

“It is my intention that the federal government pay the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge,” he said, from the White House, hoping that Congress “will support the effort,” especially because “it will take some time” to transfer the funds and come to terms.

A relatively late reaction that also served to confirm what the FBI had already said: the case was not intentional and there is no link to terrorism.

Even before that, the governor of Maryland decided to declare a state of emergency, and then the mayor of Baltimore did the same, but for a period of 30 days.