Baltimore bridge collapse timeline: What happened before, during and after

CBS News
26 Mar 202409:27

Summary

TLDRA cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, causing a significant portion of the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River. The incident occurred at 1:30 AM, with the ship losing power and steering ability before the crash. Six bridge workers are presumed dead, while two were rescued. The FBI and NTSB are investigating, with initial reports suggesting an accident rather than a terrorist attack. President Joe Biden pledged federal support for the port's reopening and rebuilding.

Takeaways

  • πŸŒ‰ A cargo vessel struck the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore causing a major portion of the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River.
  • 🚒 The incident occurred at 1:30 AM when the cargo ship, nearly 1,000 ft long, crashed into a support column after losing propulsion.
  • πŸ” Authorities have suspended active search and rescue efforts for six people who were working on the bridge, presuming them dead due to the extensive search and water temperature.
  • 🚨 The preliminary investigation suggests that the accident was not a result of a terrorist attack, but rather a technical failure on the ship.
  • πŸ›‘ The ship's pilot issued a Mayday call after multiple alarms went off, following several failed attempts to fix the loss of propulsion.
  • πŸŽ₯ Video footage shows the ship's lights going dark and then back on, with black smoke billowing from the ship's chimney before the collision.
  • πŸŒͺ️ The impact was so powerful that it was felt as an earthquake-like experience by residents in the nearby area.
  • 🚧 The bridge, a major commuter route for about 30,000 people daily, is now completely shut down, affecting traffic and the community.
  • πŸ” The FBI and NTSB are using underwater robotic cameras and other resources to search for the missing construction workers and lead the investigation.
  • 🌍 President Joe Biden assured that the federal government will provide all necessary resources to rebuild the port and the bridge, emphasizing a collaborative effort.

Q & A

  • What was the incident that occurred near the Patapsco River in Baltimore?

    -A massive cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing a large portion of the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River.

  • When did the cargo ship crash into the bridge?

    -The crash occurred at 1:30 in the morning early Tuesday.

  • How many people were authorities searching for after the incident, and what was the outcome?

    -Authorities were searching for six people who had been working on the bridge. The search turned into a recovery mission, as it was presumed that these individuals were no longer alive.

  • What preliminary investigation findings were mentioned regarding the cause of the crash?

    -The preliminary investigation pointed to an accident, with no credible evidence of a terrorist attack.

  • How did the ship's condition change moments before the crash?

    -The ship lost its lights momentarily, with lights flickering off and on, followed by plumes of black smoke billowing from the ship's chimney.

  • What heroic actions were taken by the ship's pilot before the crash?

    -The pilot issued a Mayday call after several failed attempts to fix the loss of propulsion, giving officials time to stop traffic on the bridge and potentially saving lives.

  • What will the investigation by the NTSB focus on?

    -The NTSB will examine the voyage data recorder and look into the ship's maintenance record, including any past issues with propulsion.

  • What was President Joe Biden's response to the incident?

    -President Biden pledged to move Heaven and Earth to reopen the port and pay for the rebuilding, promising all necessary federal resources for emergency response and reconstruction.

  • What challenges do investigators face in their efforts?

    -Investigators are hampered by twisted metal and debris in the water, complicating the recovery and investigation process.

  • What impact has the bridge collapse had on the community and transportation?

    -The collapse of the bridge, a vital commuter route carrying 30,000 people every day, has shocked the community and severely disrupted transportation, with the port now completely shut down.

Outlines

00:00

πŸŒ‰ Bridge Collapse in Baltimore

This paragraph describes a tragic incident where a cargo vessel crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, resulting in the bridge's partial collapse and the initiation of a recovery mission for six missing bridge workers. The search and rescue efforts were suspended due to the slim chances of finding survivors. The incident occurred at 1:30 AM on Tuesday, and the authorities have ruled out any credible evidence of a terrorist attack. The video footage of the incident showed the ship losing lights and subsequently crashing into the bridge. The impact was so powerful that it was felt by nearby residents as if it were an earthquake. The bridge is a crucial commuter route, and its closure has significantly affected the local community. The FBI and NTSB are involved in the investigation, and the President has pledged federal support for rebuilding efforts.

05:01

🚒 Investigation and Impact on the Community

This paragraph delves into the ongoing investigation of the bridge collapse and the impact it has had on the local community. The NTSB and other officials are examining the ship's maintenance records and the bridge's stability. The presence of twisted metal and debris in the water is slowing the investigation. The ship, which was three times heavier than cargo ships from decades ago, had a flickering light sequence before the crash, indicating a loss of propulsion. The Mayday call issued by the pilot allowed officials to halt traffic on the bridge, potentially saving lives. The incident has left the community in shock, and the focus currently lies with the victims and their families rather than rebuilding. The paragraph emphasizes the urgency and complexity of the situation, with the investigation expected to take months.

Mindmap

Keywords

πŸ’‘Patapsco River

The Patapsco River is a significant geographical feature near Baltimore, where the incident of the cargo vessel crashing into the bridge took place. It serves as the backdrop for the event and is crucial to understanding the location and potential impact on shipping routes and local communities.

πŸ’‘Cargo Vessel

A cargo vessel is a large ship designed for the transportation of goods, which plays a central role in this incident as it is the vessel that collided with the bridge. The size and weight of the cargo ship are significant factors in the severity of the damage caused to the bridge.

πŸ’‘Francis Scott Key Bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a specific structure that was involved in the accident, connecting areas across the Patapsco River and serving as a crucial part of the transportation infrastructure. Its collapse has significant implications for the local community and the Port of Baltimore.

πŸ’‘Search and Rescue

Search and rescue efforts refer to the organized activities undertaken to locate and assist people who are missing or in danger following an accident or disaster. In this context, it highlights the immediate response to the bridge collapse and the tragic loss of life.

πŸ’‘Preliminary Investigation

A preliminary investigation is an initial inquiry conducted to gather information and evidence about an incident. In this case, it is the first step in understanding the cause of the bridge collision and will guide further inquiries.

πŸ’‘Mayday Call

A Mayday call is a distress signal used to alert others to a life-threatening situation. In this context, it signifies the urgency and severity of the cargo ship's loss of propulsion and the immediate need for assistance.

πŸ’‘FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a government agency responsible for investigating federal crimes and threats to national security. In this incident, the FBI is involved in the search for the missing construction workers and in supporting the investigation.

πŸ’‘National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an agency that investigates transportation accidents and makes recommendations to improve safety. In this case, they are leading the on-site investigation to determine the cause of the bridge collision.

πŸ’‘Port of Baltimore

The Port of Baltimore is a major seaport in the United States and a critical component of the local and national economy. The bridge collapse has significant implications for the port's operations and the broader impact on trade and commerce.

πŸ’‘Infrastructure

Infrastructure refers to the physical and organizational structures, such as buildings, roads, and bridges, that support the operation of a society or economy. The incident highlights the vulnerability of infrastructure to accidents and the importance of maintaining and upgrading these critical structures.

πŸ’‘Community Impact

Community impact refers to the effects that events or incidents have on local residents and their environment. In this case, the bridge collapse not only disrupts daily life but also has emotional and psychological effects on the people living near the Patapsco River and relying on the bridge for transportation.

Highlights

A cargo vessel is stuck in the Patapsco River near Baltimore, causing a bridge collapse.

The bridge once spanned a vital shipping route to the Port of Baltimore.

Search and rescue efforts are now a recovery mission due to the belief that six bridge workers are not alive.

The search efforts have been extensive, but the water temperature leads authorities to believe the workers are deceased.

Two people were rescued from the water after the incident.

The bridge collapse was captured in a dramatic video showing the bridge crumbling within seconds.

The preliminary investigation suggests an accident, with no evidence of a terrorist attack.

The ship was heading south when it lost its lights momentarily, then regained them before the crash.

The ship lost propulsion, and the pilot issued a Mayday call, allowing officials to stop traffic on the bridge.

The impact of the crash was so loud it woke nearby residents, with one comparing it to an earthquake.

The bridge is a major commuter route, now completely shut down.

The FBI is using robotic cameras underwater to search for the six missing construction workers.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is on site leading the investigation.

President Joe Biden assures that the federal government will aid in reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge.

The Singapore-flagged vessel was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka at the time of the incident.

The investigation will involve examining the ship's maintenance records and voyage data recorder.

The NTSB will also look at the bridge's design and maintenance in the investigation.

The incident has left the community in shock, with many expressing disbelief at the event.

Transcripts

00:00

hello thank you for joining us we begin

00:02

with an image from the Patapsco River

00:04

near Baltimore where nothing looks right

00:07

the bridge that protects us from the

00:09

water is in the water a cargo vessel

00:11

stuck speared on the pylon it crashed

00:14

into at 1:30 in the morning early

00:16

Tuesday the bridge once spanned a vital

00:19

shipping route to the Port of Baltimore

00:21

authorities were searching for six

00:23

people who had been working on the

00:25

bridge now it's a recovery Mission based

00:29

on the length of time that we've gone in

00:32

the search the extensive search efforts

00:34

that we've put into it the water

00:37

temperature that at this point we do not

00:40

believe that we're going to find any of

00:41

these individuals still alive we are

00:44

going to suspend the active search and

00:46

rescue efforts two other people were

00:49

rescued from the water CBS Evening News

00:52

anchor Nora odonnell has more from

00:54

Baltimore dramatic video captured the

00:57

horrifying moment the massive cargo ship

01:00

nearly 1,000 ft long crashed into a

01:02

support column on the Francis Scott Key

01:05

bridge in Baltimore if the whole Bridge

01:07

just fell down start start whoever

01:10

everybody the whole Bridge just

01:11

collapsed within seconds a large portion

01:14

of the bridge collapses plunging into

01:16

the Patapsco River we are still

01:19

investigating what happened but we are

01:20

quickly Gathering details the

01:23

preliminary investigation points to an

01:27

accident we haven't seen any credible

01:29

evidence evidence of a terrorist attack

01:32

a closer look at the video shows the

01:34

ship heading south at about 1:24 a.m.

01:36

when the lights go dark but quickly on

01:38

again a minute later plumes of black

01:41

smoke can be seen billowing from the

01:43

ship's chimney once again it appears the

01:45

ship loses its lights a minute after

01:48

they come back on the vessel slams into

01:51

the bridge never would you think that

01:53

you would see physically see the Key

01:55

Bridge tumble down like that it looked

01:57

like something out of a an action move

02:00

sources tell CBS News multiple alarms

02:03

rang out on ship after several failed

02:05

attempts to fix the loss of propulsion

02:08

the pilot issued a Mayday call giving

02:10

officials time to stop traffic on the

02:12

bridge these people are heroes they

02:14

saved lives last night the impact of the

02:17

crash was so loud it jolted Donald

02:19

heimbuck who lives nearby out of his

02:22

sleep you up what did it feel like it

02:23

felt just like an earthquake we've had

02:25

some earthquakes here before and that's

02:28

exactly what it felt like and associated

02:30

with that was the Rolling Thunder which

02:33

I thought was very unusual um what was

02:36

the Rolling Thunder it was the sound of

02:39

the bridge collapsing into the psico

02:41

river well it's just incredible to see

02:43

this firsthand I mean we are not far

02:45

from this and of course this bridge

02:47

carries some 30,000 people every day it

02:50

is a major commuter route and now it is

02:52

completely shut down the FBI using

02:55

robotic cameras underwater to search for

02:58

six construction workers who who were on

03:00

the bridge they are now presumed dead by

03:02

their employer two survivors were pulled

03:05

from the chili water this morning 24

03:07

members of the NTSB are on the site

03:09

leading the investigation they want to

03:11

examine the voyage data recorder it will

03:14

be critical it's a critical piece of our

03:16

investigation which is why we have a

03:17

record team here authorities say the

03:19

Singapore flagged vessel was headed from

03:21

Baltimore to Sri Lanka going 9 mph none

03:25

of the crew was hurt today President Joe

03:28

Biden said the federal government will

03:29

quote move Heaven and Earth to reopen

03:31

the port and pay for the rebuilding I

03:34

told them we're going to send all the

03:36

federal resources they need as we

03:38

respond to this emergency and I mean all

03:40

the federal resources and we're going to

03:42

rebuild that Port together and evening

03:45

news ancher Nora odonald joins us now

03:47

from the site in Baltimore Nora what's

03:49

the latest you're hearing about the

03:51

search effort and investigation effort

03:53

and and how hard is that to do given the

03:56

weather yeah it is cold here and the

03:59

water are chilly but what we heard from

04:02

federal state and local authorities is

04:04

that all day long they have been

04:06

operating as if this is a search and

04:08

rescue operation but we did hear from

04:12

the construction company today that said

04:14

that they believe that all six of their

04:16

workers are presumed dead there were two

04:20

survivors um one who fell and apparently

04:23

survived in is at Baltimore Shock Trauma

04:25

and then another who Governor West Moore

04:28

told us in an interview was the leader

04:30

of the group and that's

04:31

miraculously uh was able to survive the

04:34

governor meeting with some of the

04:36

families of those uh who are unaccounted

04:38

for missing and saying that they're a

04:41

prayerful group of people and so

04:43

certainly uh that's part of the big

04:45

concern here even before they talk about

04:47

rebuilding they're really just concerned

04:49

about the victims here and you know just

04:52

on a personal note um John you know I

04:55

we're here outside someone's home just

04:57

over the river here we went out on a

04:59

boat today with someone who's lived here

05:00

his entire life uh Jimmy he is in in the

05:03

cement business and he said you just

05:05

can't believe it I mean he he woke up in

05:07

the middle of the night he took his boat

05:08

out in the middle of the night he said

05:11

he just he never thought something like

05:12

this would happen people really are in a

05:15

state of of shock about what has

05:16

happened here that bridge as someone who

05:19

grew up in that area that bridge is a

05:21

massive part of your life if you live

05:23

around there even if you don't live

05:25

nearby uh it must be totally devastating

05:28

to the community tell me Nora about the

05:30

investigation part of it what are some

05:32

of the key questions that remain

05:35

unanswered yeah I mean that bridge is

05:37

part of the skyline here in Baltimore as

05:39

you say the investigation ongoing at

05:43

this hour one of the things we heard

05:45

today was that there is so much Twisted

05:48

Metal and debris in the waters that that

05:51

has slowed efforts uh Chris Van Cleave

05:55

you know who's our transportation

05:56

correspondent has been talking with

05:57

officials and you know he said today

05:59

it's it's like a an a US nimit style

06:01

aircraft carrier plunging into a bridge

06:03

I mean that's how heavy these ships are

06:06

three times the weight of cargo than it

06:08

was just decades ago it's very very

06:10

heavy that has caused a lot of debris

06:12

that's in the water that is slowing and

06:14

hampering the investigation but one of

06:16

the things they're going to be looking

06:17

at the maintenance record of that ship I

06:19

mean how does the power go out I mean

06:21

you look at that video very closely that

06:23

we showed in our piece tonight for the

06:25

CBS Evening News you know the lights

06:27

flickering on and off I mean how does

06:28

that happen you know um so they're going

06:30

to be looking at that were there

06:32

problems with the propulsion in the past

06:34

so certainly the ship's maintenance

06:36

maintenance record is part of that

06:38

they'll also of course look at the

06:39

stability of the bridge involved and

06:42

they say this could take months they're

06:43

going to look for what is it essentially

06:45

a a voyage they have a data recorder on

06:47

on board the ship too to look at that

06:49

but I have to tell you John the one

06:51

thing I was struck about in just talking

06:52

to officials today is that at the last

06:56

minute I mean this happened so quickly

06:58

that the last minute there was that

07:00

Mayday call it got to the transportation

07:03

officials at Maryland they stopped

07:05

additional traffic from getting on that

07:06

bridge had that not happened this would

07:08

have been far worse John thank God it

07:11

did Nora odonnell on the scene force in

07:13

Baltimore thank you Nora perhaps you've

07:16

had a nightmare where you cannot stop

07:18

the crash you see coming and all the

07:20

tools at your disposal are useless

07:22

here's our CBS News senior

07:24

Transportation correspondent Chris Van

07:25

CLE with a report on what happened on

07:27

that shipping vessel just before imp

07:30

by Daybreak the force of the Collision

07:32

was clear pieces of the mangled Francis

07:34

Scott Key bridge and crushed cargo

07:36

containers littered the deck of the

07:38

dolly but the first sign of trouble here

07:41

when the lights flickered and went out

07:42

on board the giant ship had lost its

07:45

engine its electronics and much of its

07:47

ability to steer leaving it on a

07:49

collision course with the bridge and

07:51

little time to avert disaster a Mayday

07:53

call went out as the nightmare scenario

07:56

unfolded Michael kachari is a former

07:58

NTSB senior Marine investigator losing

08:01

power as you're approaching a bridge uh

08:05

would be just about the worst case

08:07

scenario loaded down with heavy

08:08

containers the captain tried to quickly

08:10

slow down the more than 900t long cargo

08:13

ship by dropping its Port anchor dark

08:15

smoke could be seen billowing from its

08:17

Stacks likely the backup generator

08:19

coming online but the ship never

08:21

regained engine power and it struck one

08:23

of the two main structural support

08:25

Columns of the bridge Ben schaer is a

08:27

structural engineer one the bridge was

08:31

struck by a containership of that size

08:34

there's not a bridge that we build you

08:35

know that's any level of economy and

08:37

efficiency that that that's going to

08:39

survive that it's happened before in

08:41

1980 during a blinding thunderstorm a

08:43

cargo ship slammed into a support column

08:45

of Tampa's Sunshine Skyway Bridge a

08:48

12200 ft span collapsed 35 people were

08:52

killed since then cargo ships have more

08:54

than quadrupled in size in the world of

08:57

infrastructure system it's a failure

08:58

right I mean the the bridge is gone the

09:00

port is closed people have died the NTSB

09:03

is going to have to contend with a lot

09:05

of debris on that ship and in the water

09:07

but they want to get their hands on the

09:09

voice and data recorder that should be

09:11

on that ship they're also going to pour

09:13

over its maintenance history including

09:15

reports there may have been an

09:16

inspection that turned up problems with

09:18

the propulsion System earlier this year

09:20

but they're also going to look at the

09:21

design and maintenance of the bridge

09:23

John Chris Van Cleveland Baltimore of

09:25

for us thank you Chris