On March 26, in the Baltimore metropolitan area, at approximately 1:28 a.m, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed due to a head-on collision caused by a container ship named the “MV Dali” registered under Singapore.
The exact cause of the collision was due to a power malfunction aboard the ship, resulting in a complete blackout on the ‘Dali’. A mayday call was made from the ship at approximately 1:27 a.m and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) was notified of this blackout aboard the ship minutes prior to the crash and made radio calls to close the bridge. The ship made contact with the southwest pier of the key bridge at roughly 9.2 mph (15 km/h) and within seconds, the bridge came to a complete collapse.
The aftermath of the incident resulted in many investigations to spring forth and determine the damage report that included casualties and losses made from the collapse. Following the damage report, it is estimated that 13 cargo containers were damaged in the collision, with two containers falling in the water. Additionally, five vehicles were confirmed to be submerged into the water when the bridge came to a collapse.
The pollution made from the crash is approximately 21 gallons of oil that leaked from a bow thruster on the ship. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced an investigation looking into a spill that presumably came from breached containers holding tons of hazardous materials.
Three maintenance workers are confirmed dead from the collapse and three are presumed, totaling up to a possibility of six maintenance workers dead. One victim was identified as a Honduran, two were from Guatemala, and the others were from El Salvador and Mexico. Two bodies, belonging to one worker from Mexico and the other from Guatemala, were recovered from inside a red pickup truck.
On April 5, the body of the Honduran victim was recovered from another submerged vehicle. No crew members among the ‘Dali’ were seriously injured at the time of the collapse and all members have been accounted for.
“The collapse of the Key Bridge is not just a Maryland crisis,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference addressing the bridge collapse. “The collapse of the Key Bridge is a global crisis. The national economy and the world’s economy depends on the Port of Baltimore.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is taking the lead in removing all the fallen debris from the bridge. It is estimated that the insured losses from the collision could range from $1 billion to $4 billion. Experts estimate that the reconstruction of the Baltimore key bridge could take up to 10 years or more, and could roughly cost upwards to $350 million to reconstruct.
The lives of many people have been changed significantly from this incident. The bridge collapse has also brought upon significant inconvenience towards the residents of the Baltimore metropolitan area, as 30,000 vehicles daily cross the bridge. This incident has been marked in history and we have all been there to witness it.
Sources: Washington Post, AP News, National Review, BBC, ABC News, MSN, Wall Street Journal
