After massive container ship slams into bridge, how in God’s name are only six feared dead?
JAMMED into the wreckage of the bridge it destroyed, the helpless 165,000-ton Dali was surrounded by rescue boats yesterday.
By drifting just a few feet off course due to a power failure, it had turned the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore into matchsticks.
Five vehicles and eight construction workers, who had been fixing potholes on the 1.6-mile structure, plunged 185ft down into the Patapsco River.
Two men were pulled from the 7 degrees Celsius waters. One was taken to hospital and the other required no help. Six others are feared dead despite a massive air and sea rescue effort co-ordinated by the US Coast Guard.
Dozens more might have perished had heroic officials not rushed to stop cars driving on to the bridge as the out-of-control ship loomed closer. An emergency worker was heard on the radio urging: ‘I need one of you guys on the north side – hold all traffic on the Key Bridge! There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering. We’ve got to stop all traffic.’
Moments earlier, the 22 crew of the 948ft Singapore-registered Dali had issued a mayday. The ship had set off from Baltimore’s harbour – the ninth biggest in the US – bound for Colombo in Sri Lanka.
They had been anticipating a 28- day voyage because they wanted to go the long way, around South Africa, to avoid the Red Sea where Yemeni Houthi rebels have been attacking western ships.
But disaster struck just 45 minutes into their journey. The lights went out on their vessel and it lost power. Despite being steered by an experienced local harbour pilot, who had aimed for the centre of the channel under the bridge, it veered just a few feet off course and slammed into one of the bridge supports.
Although going at just eight knots, its huge mass set off a chain reaction of destruction. Harrowing video footage captured the moment the entire structure, which opened in 1977, collapsed into the water. One shocked witness said it ‘sounded like a plane was landing in her backyard’.
About 30,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, which is named after the writer of America’s national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner. Initially officials announced a ‘developing mass casualty event’ in the
American city close to Washington. But the timing of the accident – at 1.30am yesterday – combined with the mayday warning, averted large casualties.
Rescuers using infrared and sonar technology later spotted three passenger vehicles, a cement truck and a fifth vehicle under the murky waters.
Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland senator, said: ‘Before it hit the bridge, it issued a mayday warning, which did give folks enough time to stop some of the traffic crossing.’
The destruction of the bridge creates a logistical nightmare for Baltimore residents who now face months, if not years, of being forced into a 19-mile diversion.
It is not the first time the Dali has crashed. In 2016, the ship smashed into the dock in Antwerp, Belgium.
President Joe Biden pledged last night: ‘To the people of Baltimore – we are with you, we’re going to stay with you as long as it takes.’
‘Chain reaction of destruction’