Baltimore bridge collapses after Singapore-flagged ship collision, 6 missing
- Rescuers pulled out 2 survivors and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after the Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water
- US President Joe Biden called the collapse a ‘terrible accident’ and pledged to get the major East Coast port up and running as soon as possible
A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the US port of Baltimore in darkness early on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.
Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom remains hospitalised, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.
“The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a briefing, and there was no credible evidence of terrorism.
Eight people were on the bridge at the time of the collision and six remain unaccounted for, the state’s transport secretary said hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.
US President Joe Biden called the collapse a “terrible accident” and pledged to get the major East Coast port up and running as soon as possible.
Biden also said the Francis Scott Key Bridge would be rebuilt as soon as possible but admitted it would “take some time”. He said he would send “all the federal resources they need” to handle the incident.
“I’m directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said in a brief address from the White House.
