Baltimore bridge collapse timeline: What happened before, during and after
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
- π A cargo vessel struck the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore causing a major portion of the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River.
- π’ The incident occurred at 1:30 AM when the cargo ship, nearly 1,000 ft long, crashed into a support column after losing propulsion.
- π 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.
- π¨ The preliminary investigation suggests that the accident was not a result of a terrorist attack, but rather a technical failure on the ship.
- π The ship's pilot issued a Mayday call after multiple alarms went off, following several failed attempts to fix the loss of propulsion.
- π₯ 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.
- πͺοΈ The impact was so powerful that it was felt as an earthquake-like experience by residents in the nearby area.
- π§ The bridge, a major commuter route for about 30,000 people daily, is now completely shut down, affecting traffic and the community.
- π The FBI and NTSB are using underwater robotic cameras and other resources to search for the missing construction workers and lead the investigation.
- π 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
π 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.
π’ 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
π‘Patapsco River
π‘Cargo Vessel
π‘Francis Scott Key Bridge
π‘Search and Rescue
π‘Preliminary Investigation
π‘Mayday Call
π‘FBI
π‘National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
π‘Port of Baltimore
π‘Infrastructure
π‘Community Impact
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
hello thank you for joining us we begin
with an image from the Patapsco River
near Baltimore where nothing looks right
the bridge that protects us from the
water is in the water a cargo vessel
stuck speared on the pylon it crashed
into at 1:30 in the morning early
Tuesday the bridge once spanned a vital
shipping route to the Port of Baltimore
authorities were searching for six
people who had been working on the
bridge now it's a recovery Mission based
on the length of time that we've gone in
the search the extensive search efforts
that we've put into it the water
temperature that at this point we do not
believe that we're going to find any of
these individuals still alive we are
going to suspend the active search and
rescue efforts two other people were
rescued from the water CBS Evening News
anchor Nora odonnell has more from
Baltimore dramatic video captured the
horrifying moment the massive cargo ship
nearly 1,000 ft long crashed into a
support column on the Francis Scott Key
bridge in Baltimore if the whole Bridge
just fell down start start whoever
everybody the whole Bridge just
collapsed within seconds a large portion
of the bridge collapses plunging into
the Patapsco River we are still
investigating what happened but we are
quickly Gathering details the
preliminary investigation points to an
accident we haven't seen any credible
evidence evidence of a terrorist attack
a closer look at the video shows the
ship heading south at about 1:24 a.m.
when the lights go dark but quickly on
again a minute later plumes of black
smoke can be seen billowing from the
ship's chimney once again it appears the
ship loses its lights a minute after
they come back on the vessel slams into
the bridge never would you think that
you would see physically see the Key
Bridge tumble down like that it looked
like something out of a an action move
sources tell CBS News multiple alarms
rang out on ship after several failed
attempts to fix the loss of propulsion
the pilot issued a Mayday call giving
officials time to stop traffic on the
bridge these people are heroes they
saved lives last night the impact of the
crash was so loud it jolted Donald
heimbuck who lives nearby out of his
sleep you up what did it feel like it
felt just like an earthquake we've had
some earthquakes here before and that's
exactly what it felt like and associated
with that was the Rolling Thunder which
I thought was very unusual um what was
the Rolling Thunder it was the sound of
the bridge collapsing into the psico
river well it's just incredible to see
this firsthand I mean we are not far
from this and of course this bridge
carries some 30,000 people every day it
is a major commuter route and now it is
completely shut down the FBI using
robotic cameras underwater to search for
six construction workers who who were on
the bridge they are now presumed dead by
their employer two survivors were pulled
from the chili water this morning 24
members of the NTSB are on the site
leading the investigation they want to
examine the voyage data recorder it will
be critical it's a critical piece of our
investigation which is why we have a
record team here authorities say the
Singapore flagged vessel was headed from
Baltimore to Sri Lanka going 9 mph none
of the crew was hurt today President Joe
Biden said the federal government will
quote move Heaven and Earth to reopen
the port and pay for the rebuilding I
told them we're going to send all the
federal resources they need as we
respond to this emergency and I mean all
the federal resources and we're going to
rebuild that Port together and evening
news ancher Nora odonald joins us now
from the site in Baltimore Nora what's
the latest you're hearing about the
search effort and investigation effort
and and how hard is that to do given the
weather yeah it is cold here and the
water are chilly but what we heard from
federal state and local authorities is
that all day long they have been
operating as if this is a search and
rescue operation but we did hear from
the construction company today that said
that they believe that all six of their
workers are presumed dead there were two
survivors um one who fell and apparently
survived in is at Baltimore Shock Trauma
and then another who Governor West Moore
told us in an interview was the leader
of the group and that's
miraculously uh was able to survive the
governor meeting with some of the
families of those uh who are unaccounted
for missing and saying that they're a
prayerful group of people and so
certainly uh that's part of the big
concern here even before they talk about
rebuilding they're really just concerned
about the victims here and you know just
on a personal note um John you know I
we're here outside someone's home just
over the river here we went out on a
boat today with someone who's lived here
his entire life uh Jimmy he is in in the
cement business and he said you just
can't believe it I mean he he woke up in
the middle of the night he took his boat
out in the middle of the night he said
he just he never thought something like
this would happen people really are in a
state of of shock about what has
happened here that bridge as someone who
grew up in that area that bridge is a
massive part of your life if you live
around there even if you don't live
nearby uh it must be totally devastating
to the community tell me Nora about the
investigation part of it what are some
of the key questions that remain
unanswered yeah I mean that bridge is
part of the skyline here in Baltimore as
you say the investigation ongoing at
this hour one of the things we heard
today was that there is so much Twisted
Metal and debris in the waters that that
has slowed efforts uh Chris Van Cleave
you know who's our transportation
correspondent has been talking with
officials and you know he said today
it's it's like a an a US nimit style
aircraft carrier plunging into a bridge
I mean that's how heavy these ships are
three times the weight of cargo than it
was just decades ago it's very very
heavy that has caused a lot of debris
that's in the water that is slowing and
hampering the investigation but one of
the things they're going to be looking
at the maintenance record of that ship I
mean how does the power go out I mean
you look at that video very closely that
we showed in our piece tonight for the
CBS Evening News you know the lights
flickering on and off I mean how does
that happen you know um so they're going
to be looking at that were there
problems with the propulsion in the past
so certainly the ship's maintenance
maintenance record is part of that
they'll also of course look at the
stability of the bridge involved and
they say this could take months they're
going to look for what is it essentially
a a voyage they have a data recorder on
on board the ship too to look at that
but I have to tell you John the one
thing I was struck about in just talking
to officials today is that at the last
minute I mean this happened so quickly
that the last minute there was that
Mayday call it got to the transportation
officials at Maryland they stopped
additional traffic from getting on that
bridge had that not happened this would
have been far worse John thank God it
did Nora odonnell on the scene force in
Baltimore thank you Nora perhaps you've
had a nightmare where you cannot stop
the crash you see coming and all the
tools at your disposal are useless
here's our CBS News senior
Transportation correspondent Chris Van
CLE with a report on what happened on
that shipping vessel just before imp
by Daybreak the force of the Collision
was clear pieces of the mangled Francis
Scott Key bridge and crushed cargo
containers littered the deck of the
dolly but the first sign of trouble here
when the lights flickered and went out
on board the giant ship had lost its
engine its electronics and much of its
ability to steer leaving it on a
collision course with the bridge and
little time to avert disaster a Mayday
call went out as the nightmare scenario
unfolded Michael kachari is a former
NTSB senior Marine investigator losing
power as you're approaching a bridge uh
would be just about the worst case
scenario loaded down with heavy
containers the captain tried to quickly
slow down the more than 900t long cargo
ship by dropping its Port anchor dark
smoke could be seen billowing from its
Stacks likely the backup generator
coming online but the ship never
regained engine power and it struck one
of the two main structural support
Columns of the bridge Ben schaer is a
structural engineer one the bridge was
struck by a containership of that size
there's not a bridge that we build you
know that's any level of economy and
efficiency that that that's going to
survive that it's happened before in
1980 during a blinding thunderstorm a
cargo ship slammed into a support column
of Tampa's Sunshine Skyway Bridge a
12200 ft span collapsed 35 people were
killed since then cargo ships have more
than quadrupled in size in the world of
infrastructure system it's a failure
right I mean the the bridge is gone the
port is closed people have died the NTSB
is going to have to contend with a lot
of debris on that ship and in the water
but they want to get their hands on the
voice and data recorder that should be
on that ship they're also going to pour
over its maintenance history including
reports there may have been an
inspection that turned up problems with
the propulsion System earlier this year
but they're also going to look at the
design and maintenance of the bridge
John Chris Van Cleveland Baltimore of
for us thank you Chris
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