One Indian crew injured in bridge collision, rest safe

New York, 27: One of the 22 Indian crew manning a cargo ship, Dali, which collided against a bridge in Baltimore has suffered a “minor injury” while the rest are all safe aboard the vessel, owners of the Singaporeflagged ship said on Wednesday.

Authorities on Tuesday suspended their search for six people missing after a packed cargo ship slammed into a Baltimore bridge, causing it to collapse and blocking one of the busiest US commercial harbors.

“Based on the length of time that we've gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that we put into it, the water temperature... at this point we do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath told a press conference as night fell.

All six people were members of a nighttime construction crew who were repairing potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when disaster struck not long after midnight.

The 2.6km-long, fourlane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, came crashing down after Dali, a 984-foot cargo ship, collided against it in the early hours of Tuesday.

“We confirm the safety of all crew members and two pilots aboard Dali, with one minor injury reported. The injured crew member has been treated and discharged from hospital,” a statement by owners Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and ship manager of Dali, posted on the website of ship management company Synergy Marine Group.

The name and other details of the crew have not been released. Authorities

from the US Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board boarded the vessel to carry out investigations, it said.

Synergy had said in a statement on Tuesday after the accident that Dali’s crew is “All Indian, 22 in total.” “All crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. There has also been no pollution,” Synergy had said.