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What is known and what is unknown about the Baltimore bridge accident?

  • March 26, 2024
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A few hours after cargo ship “Dali” will crash into him Francis Scott Key Bridge in BaltimoreUnidentified people persist in what happened early Tuesday morning on one of

What is known and what is unknown about the Baltimore bridge accident?

A few hours after cargo ship “Dali” will crash into him Francis Scott Key Bridge in BaltimoreUnidentified people persist in what happened early Tuesday morning on one of the busiest bridges in Maryland.

At least seven people are still missingTwo have been rescued and rescue teams are working around the clock to search for possible survivors of the tragedy, which could add even more casualties.

Port of Baltimore, one of the largest and busiest on the planethas been closed until further notice, but loading and unloading machines remain operational.

When and how did the cargo ship sink?

The accident occurred around 01:30 local timewhen the cargo ship Dali collided with a bridge built in 1977 and caused it to collapse.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told the press that low water temperatureIts depth is about 15 meters and darkness at the time of the incident makes rescue efforts difficult.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said state of emergency due to collapsewhich blocked part of I-95, the most important route in the eastern United States.

How many people could have died?

At 08:30 local time (1230 GMT), a helicopter and three Coast Guard cutters searched the Patapsco River for at least seven officially reported missing people.

Two people were rescued by emergency services the number of victims may be more than twentybecause at the time of its collapse there were repair crews on the bridge.

Authorities indicated at a news conference that federal, local and state agents are involved in the device deployed to combat what Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called a “tragedy” and confirmed that Radars detected cars underwater.

The area is closed and press access is only possible at a distance of about 1.6 km from the site.

Singapore company Synergy GroupThe company that operates the ship confirmed that none of the ship’s 22 crew members were injured and said it was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the incident.

Could this have been intentional?

Although the cause of the incident is still unknown, Baltimore police he sees no signs of a terrorist attack or a deliberate event.

The FBI is involved in an open investigation, but that doesn’t mean there are signs of a terrorist attack. “Any incident like this would involve him,” Wiedefeld said.

Photo: Reuters

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the collapse and is coordinating with Maryland authorities and federal agencies, the White House said.

The federal agency responsible for investigating vehicle accidents, the NTSB, is investigating what problems or failures led to this serious accident.

Where did it happen?

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is the largest bridge in this Maryland city. 2632 meters long and more than 11 million cars pass through it every year.

Immortalized by the TV series “The Wire,” the bridge is named after poet Francis Scott Key, the lyricist of the American anthem, and carries approximately 31,000 vehicles daily.

Its construction began in 1972 and was inaugurated. March 23, 1977. The structure crosses the lower Patapsco River between Hawkins and Sollers Point and is traversed by I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway).

The collapsed bridge, according to Historic Sites, is the successor to a bridge built between 1833 and 1843 with stone columns and demolished in 1915, and the one that replaced it, a concrete arch opened in 1923 with the name of Francis Scott. Key because the artist lived in a nearby area at the beginning of the 19th century. The bridge was originally called the Outer Harbor Crossing.

An important seaport since before the American Revolution, located on the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore is the most populous city in Maryland, with just over 600,000 people living in the city center and 2,700,000 in the metropolitan area.

EFE

Source: Aristegui Noticias

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