Baltimore port bridge collapses after hit by cargo ship manned by Indians

Officials say at least 7 vehicles plunged into water; rescue ops to extend for days

A MASSIVE freight ship stacked high with containers smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the US Eastern Seaboard. Rescuerspulledouttwosurvivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge metalspansofthe2.57kmfrancis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water at around 1:30 a.m.

The entire 22-member crew of the cargo ship are Indians, the companysaid.aspertheinformation provided by Synergy Marine Group, the crew was “All Indian, 22 in total”. Grace Ocean Private Ltd owns the vessel and the ship was outbound to Colombo.

The ship named Dali faced a power issue and “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing a US intelligence report. Officials said at least seven vehicles plunged into the water but could not give an exact figure.

"This is a mass-casualty, multi-agency event," he said.

“This operation is going to extend for many days.” Eight people were on the bridge at the time and six remained unaccounted for, the state's transportation secretary said.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergencytoquicklydeployfederalresources to deal with the emergency. Traffic was suspended at the Port of Baltimore until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said.

The closure of one of the U.S. Eastcoast'smajorportsthreatens to disrupt supplies of goods from cars, to coal and other commodities like sugar.

Reuters The Dali cargo vessel crashes into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, US, on Tuesday.