Concert victims still in hospital
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A CONTAINER ship lost power and crashed into a major bridge in the US city of Baltimore early yesterday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. The operators of the ship issued a mayday call moments before the crash, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.
The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to break apart like a toy. Two people were rescued from the water, and officials said six people were still unaccounted for. All were believed to be working on the bridge when it collapsed. It tumbled into the water in a matter of seconds – a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media. The crash happened long before the morning commute in what one official called a “developing mass casualty event”. Brandon Scott, mayor of Baltimore, said: “Never would you think that you would physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie.” Authorities said a crew was working on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that sonar had detected cars in the water, which is about 50ft (15m) deep. The temperature in the water was about 47F (8C).
Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
The bridge came down in the middle of night when traffic would be lighter than during the day, said Mr Cartwright, who called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event”.
Synergy Marine Group – which manages the ship, called the Dali - confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1.30am while it was in control of two pilots, who are local specialists who help navigate vessels safely into ports. The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.
It said all crew members, including the pilots, were accounted for. From a vantage point near the entrance to the bridge, jagged remnants of its steel frame were visible protruding from the water. Mr Cartwright said that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which was opened in 1977 and named after the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner.
The FBI was on the scene, but said there was no credible information to suggest terrorism and that President Joe Biden had been briefed.
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
The container ship is about 985ft (300m) long and about 157ft (48m) wide.
A SUICIDE bomber in north-west Pakistan drove his explosive-laden car into a vehicle yesterday, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.
The attack happened in Shangla, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police chief Bakhat Zahir.
Mr Zahir said that the five killed were construction workers and engineers heading to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province borders Afghanistan and the Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks there in recent years. Authorities said the bodies were transported to a nearby hospital and that security forces started a search in the area to look for accomplices. Yesterday’s attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Baluchistan province.
TWENTY-two victims of the Russia concert hall attack, in which more than 130 people were killed, remain in serious condition in the hospital, health minister Mikhail Murashko said.
Two of them are children, state news agency Tass said.
Russia is still reeling from Friday’s attack in which gunmen killed 139 people in a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the gunmen are “radical Islamists”, but despite all evidence pointing to the involvement of the so-called Islamic State, Mr Putin repeated his accusation that Ukraine could have played a role.