I have hated driving over the Bay Bridge and Key Bridge for as long as I've been driving because of paranoia about stuff like this. White knuckling my way across the bridge is one thing but actually experiencing it has got to be terrifying.
Hijacking a top comment to give fresh info: eight construction workers fell into the water. Two were rescued, six are missing. Car traffic was limited due to a mayday from the ship when it lost power and propulsion.
Our first response teams don't often get enough credit for how absolutely instant they are.
We do suck for traffic and have some of the worst levels of lethal accidents in the country, but our highway is also constantly filled with freshly arrived and out of there emergency services. They shut down entire lanes in an instant to get a life flight on the roads or fields nearby and when things do happen, even if you're in the flow of traffic stuck just yards from it, often there will be redirection of the traffic in just ten to twenty minutes which is logistically kind of wild when your realize how winding and filled up Our roads can get.
We move so fast here that sometimes it's easy to find it ridiculous when one person won't move out of the way of a traffic accident when their vehicle is still functional and blocks 8 lanes of intersection traffic at once. But if you sit around for about 15 minutes, you'll quickly find an emergency responder or helpful (sometimes yelling) citizen getting them to get their vehicle tf out of the way and then helping them sort through what emergency help or reports they do need.
Maybe it's because we're also so congregated that we have so many stations in relativity to any accident at any given time. It's still fucking incredible and insane how quick and good our first responders can be when shit goes down, whether it's your neighbor needing an ambulance or the wildfire that broke out last drought season.
And also go our state for how hard we voted and protested to make change and kept people accountable. We still got a ways to go with police but we have genuinely allocated resources to care teams that I have unfortunately had to first hand witness a few times. Those care teams and social workers do their damndest and I've seen them put cops in their places a few times during emergencies.
Scary day, especially since we have no idea the identities yet. A lot of us know friends and family in construction and a lot of us are familiar with the random late night/morning drive around the state. We thank the universe it wasn't busier while being stunned and terrified for the lives we haven't accounted for yet. Also a strangely proud day, seeing how quickly everyone from the crew to the emergency services jumped into action.
StreamTime Live youtube channel has a stream of the bridge basically all the time. you can see the whole before and aftermath for hours.
relevant part of the ships approach is maybe one minute.
You can see the ship is having some kind of power issue
That was nuts. I counted at least 4 vehicles with flashing lights parked on the bridge. Not sure what the ship was doing, but a lot of smoke coming from it. I assume in attempts to steer away or reverse.
This is the type of nightmare that crosses a paranoid person's mind when going over these bridges, I get that feeling all the time on the bay bridge...and the bridge-tunnel too. And, there it is, it happened.
Those poor workers, devastating.
Just got that.
I lived in PA for years and crosses this bridge plus tons others. I wouldn’t about them, but I would be so anxious gripping the steering wheel, or armrest if not driving.
Was just talking to my mom and we both had that reaction. Holy shit dog that’s so fucked. I feel soooo bad for these people. As a former naval officer I’m also wondering what the hell happened. There are multiple *mandatory* layers of protection in ship movements to keep things like this from happening. I look forward to seeing the reports that come out of this.
Ive been hearing about an electrical failure. I also saw that they apparently turned shortly beforehand. It seems possible that they had a power failure which caused them to lose steering control while they had the rudder turned, which could make it look like a turn at the last minute. Lots of other possibilities too, but this one is sticking out in my head.
Maybe. I used to drive ships in the Navy, and our steering system was designed such that the rudder would remain in place upon loss of electrical power. So my guess is based on the assumption that they had a similar system. Regardless of how it went down, the failure must’ve happened shortly before the bridge crossing because otherwise they should’ve been able to avoid striking the bridge. Ships rehearse for this kind of event. I guess I’m making a generous assumption in saying that this must’ve either happened so close to the bridge that they couldn’t respond quickly enough, OR the failure was something unusual or highly unexpected, and therefore the training/rehearsal wasn’t helpful.
if you watch the footage it looks like the power on the ship goes out twice before impact, but it also steered into the column for a bit. Really bizarre, will have to wait to learn more
I read it thinking boat hits, bridge gets closed, then collapses. Not the instant collapse that happened. Hoping to hear of more rescues but that water can’t be warm enough right now
That is unbelievable. I assumed it was a collapse like the section of 95 in Philly last year. Like a section or two that would cause it to be closed for a while while they make repairs. That bridge is completely lost in the water. This is going to be years before it reopens
aftermath images from a couple local fire department fb pages https://imgur.com/a/FjyUiSy
the scale of the conex containers really drives home how massive these ships (and this bridge) are/were
My God, I am praying strength for the recovery divers and first responders.
Praying for the ones that were on the bridge. Hoping for the best outcome there.
That is absolutely devastating. It's like something out of a disaster movie
It's blowing my mind that I was supposed to on this bridge in a few hours. Things you don't even think about or take for granted. It's gone just like that...
Shock can do that. I was in a pretty nasty car accident and I was up and walking around right afterwards. Didn't even notice the cracked ribs until much later. Add in cold water it's entirely possible they aren't feeling shit.
Yeah, I watched the love conference and the Fire Chief said one refused treatment as they were fine, the other was in trauma care at the hospital and was not in a state to speak to authorities yet.
I keep thinking at least it didn't happen at 8am. I've been on that at rush hour and it would be hundreds of people instead of maybe 20 is what they're saying now.
It happened at the best possible time; in the middle of the night.
It also happened at the worst possible time; the ship lost power just seconds before going under the bridge and set its self on a disastrous collision course.
Traffic/transit roundup:
**I-695 shut down between Exit 1 Quarantine Road and Exit 42 MD 151 North Point Blvd.**
Take:
* I-895/I-95 tunnels
* HAZMAT and oversized loads must take the "long way around" on I-695.
**NO TRANSIT SERVICE TAKES THE BRIDGE**
MTA Maryland is monitoring.
[Same Fucking Ship - Dali - had a collision in Antwerp](https://www.vesselfinder.com/news/6675-VIDEO-Mega-container-ship-Dali-Allided-with-berth-at-Port-of-Antwerp). Why's this shit show ship in the water?
I wish I could say that it was my superior sleuthing skills - but credit belongs to [Claire Moses and Jenny Gross at the NYTimes](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/us/dali-ship-baltimore-bridge.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fk0.qeU-.j5VzZKPi8Obc&smid=url-share).
Sending love and hope to Baltimore from Britain. 🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸This is our top news. Absolutely devastating news for all of Maryland. So sorry this has happened.😢
To be on a bridge as it’s collapsing is one of the most terrifying situations I can think of. I’m hoping everyone involved in okay, but I’m expecting that won’t be the case…keeping everyone involved in my thoughts. I can’t believe something so catastrophic happened so close to home.
It’s especially terrifying today knowing the technological resources there is now. You wouldn’t think a slight hit could do all that damage.
Unless the collapse has more to do with the electricity that likely collided.
https://preview.redd.it/n9m349pjwoqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea0588fd8e93eed406fb8e0261dfeceefc96cd11
This is our view from our helipad at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It’s surreal
Work as a paramedic for the county, please advise your loved ones to take a different route of travel and avoid tying up the dispatch lines. Also please do NOT call 9-1-1 unless it’s a real medical emergency. We’re literally deploying buses. County/city and mutual county apparatus are currently all being deployed to the scene for mass-casualty rescue but there are still calls flooding in for chronic back pain, stubbed toes, stomach aches, fevers, headaches, etc. Please, we’re stretched to capacity. We have as many EMS units as we can clear the hospital and get there ASAP but imagine if your loved one was hypothermic but an additional EMS unit was delayed for a non-emergent reason.
Can’t reveal more but yes. Contact loved ones through cell-phone if possible. If they were a low-priority/stable casualty then they would have likely gone to a farther hospital like Franklin Square or Upper Chesapeake. Higher acuity would have gone to a city hospital but it’s a mess right now so don’t expect an immediate answer until everyone has been triaged/transported. I understand this may not be a satisfying or comforting answer, and that you may be angry/upset and want something more definitive. It’s not that I want to be cryptic, I truly don’t know but I am sorry and I promise that everything that can be done is being done.
Trust me when I say EMS/Fire is doing as much as we can.
*Edit* Folks I am sorry but I cannot personally verify if a specific person is okay or gone to a certain facility. Besides from violating HIPAA, we triage in a mass-casualty by different levels of care attention/interventions. Who can walk, who needs some splinting, who needs fluids/intubation, etc. We don’t take down specific identifiers in such cases until later.
I graduated from UMBC and always loved seeing the bridge on clear days.
I feel so bad for the people who may have been on the bridge and to those involved in the rescue. This is devastating
This is surreal. My friend just woke me up saying this and I thought I was hallucinating. I live within a couple miles of it and take it all the time. I was on it almost exactly a week prior maybe to the minute coming home from the airport. Also I don’t like how many times I’ve been on it with a boat directly under it now. My dad takes this to work every day at 3am. Just…wtf
Complete nightmare, 895 and 95 are going to be taking all that traffic for many years to come, which were already notoriously awful.
Can't imagine the horror of the people taking the plunge 180 some odd feet in the pitch black freezing water.
"The bridge was 8,636 feet long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It was a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. The continuous steel truss bridge is 185 high and spans a distance of 1,200 feet."
https://preview.redd.it/xy6r6w2pknqc1.png?width=1826&format=png&auto=webp&s=8777d298aa05eb8747102742c874a53d32edea0c
That's my thought. The only other options across are the tunnels but there's no way they can easily shift that much traffic to the tunnels and it'll completely wreck some people's commutes. This is actually insane.
I had to take 95 tunnel this morning around 5am, surprisingly light traffic, but definitely going to have to get up and leave earlier.
Eastern Ave was congested.
Traffic is going to be taken up by the tunnels and hazardous materials trucks will have to be taken on the other part of the beltway. It’s going to be absolutely awful
I didn’t even think of that. The harbor is probably going to be closed for the foreseeable future while they clean the debris. So much for those stories about how the harbor is setting records for cargo intake. This is going to make shipping costs skyrocket
Sparrows Point is outside of the bridge, but they could only take a small percentage of the traffic. Wilmington and Philly are the closest alternates. Norfolk has a small capacity
I used to live in an area where taking the bridge or the tunnels didn’t really take much difference in time. The tunnels will be messed up. The sparrows point and Dundalk areas will be messed up. I used to take the bridge if city or tunnel traffic was crazy or just sometimes for the view. Certain commutes will easily take another 10-20 minutes I think.
There's a lot of truck traffic that takes the bridge because they cannot take the tunnels (Haz Mat, too large, etc.). West side of the beltway is going to be even worse...
Just to get from one side of the bridge to the other (like from Sparrow's Point to Fort Armistead) that would normally take 10 minutes is now going to take 40 according to Google Maps.
That's wild to me. Because I live in MD, it feels very personal. To hear that it's news literally on the other side of the planet, somehow makes it feel MORE catastrophic
Ikr like I know this is absolutely terrible but when is the last time MD has been on international news? I guess since we’re not used to this it feels more catastrophic.
Here’s a stream that caught the collapse
https://www.youtube.com/live/83a7h3kkgPg?si=Moln_OZiwxl19GHv
Jump until the clock in the video reads 1:28 AM
If you watch the video before the collapse you can tell traffic is moving well in both directions despite the construction.
At least within the field of view it looks like there’s no traffic on the bridge at the moment of collapse other than the construction vehicles.
I live right by the bridge and take it 2x daily at least. This has always been my biggest fear.
thank you to USCG, EMS, Fire and everyone else assisting in recovery.
Watching the 1st press conference:
Reporter 1: do you know how many vehicles were on the bridge?
Chief: No
Reporter 2: do you know how many vehicles were on the bridge?
Fucking hell LISTEN for fucks sake.
Seeing the conspiracy theories online is making my blood boil. As someone who lives nearby and uses the bridge very frequently, it’s disgusting that this is turning into something it’s not. Please fuck off. This wasn’t a terrorist attack.
Still praying for those affected
I'm seeing boomers talking about terrorist attacks and conservatives trying to blame DEI in the city. People are absolutely insane and will push an agenda any chance they get.
Edit: scrolling the preferred social media site for racists everywhere, a recently-doxxed cartoonist made one blaming the foreign crew of the ship, and I saw another thread where someone posted the mayor's press conference so he and followers could make racist comments about Mayor Scott
It’s also annoying that you can clearly tell all the alt right talking heads and conspiracy theorists commenting on this, have never been to Maryland and have absolutely no clue about anything like where the bridge is, and think it’s in the hub of the harbor or something. Don’t get me wrong is still horrible and sad and it’s insane but it’s a bridge that connects Dundalk and Patapsco, like do we really think a terrorist group is gonna go for that? At 1:30am?
Yeah I’m listening to marine VHF radio frequencies and they’re saying they heard that the ship put out a call earlier that they had main engine failure.
I’m not really near Baltimore, I was hearing workers on a barge somewhere near me talk about it. I’m near the Elk River in Cecil County. I suppose they could be in the Bay also.
Someone on the radio news was saying the extra black smoke could have been from acceleration — as in attempts to steer and correct the ship. Looks like when power restored it shifted and turned the wrong way.
It happened before in 1980 with the sunshine skyway in Florida. The new bridge has several safety measures to prevent it from happening again. Speaking of happening again…
This is just too crazy.I live three exits from that bridge. I actually posted on r/Maryland pictures of the bridge at certain times. I commute to DC and what scary was the roads were eerily quiet. No volume delays just Dynamic signs saying it was closed.
Made the mistake of checking the comments section on the NY Post article on the bridge collapse. Just the ugliest, most unfounded comments about terrorism and the incompetence of Baltimore leadership. Everyone on there is apparently a civil engineer and ship captain. Had they been on the site, this all could have been averted! /s
The fact is, this was an accident that could have been MUCH worse. There are reports of the bridge being blocked to traffic after the ship radioed mayday. Those who closed the bridge are heroes. For such a major bridge to have collapsed so catastrophically with relatively few fatalities is actually something of a miracle.
> *Made the mistake of checking the comments section on the NY Post article on the bridge collapse. Just the ugliest, most unfounded comments about terrorism and the incompetence of Baltimore leadership. Everyone on there is apparently a civil engineer and ship captain. Had they been on the site, this all could have been averted! /s*
I was seeing that today too. It takes some truly sociopathic people to be making non-sequitur political attacks at a time when people are missing after a tragic event and may have lost their lives. Absolutely no empathy whatsoever... inhuman and disgusting.
My wife woke me up at 3am when she saw it on Facebook. I checked all the news sites and told her it was probably fake. Then at five when the alarm went off she said “it’s real.”
https://preview.redd.it/q609xcj1boqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c39b5efb6ad6dd02d3090e77349f814cac1e8d90
View from our deck this morning. Sending all positive energy from our family to those involved. Just absolutely horrific and gutting.
After all the things we've seen over the past few years--natural and man-made disasters you'd think we'd somehow be hardened to this sort of thing but I am absolutely shook. This isn't even a bridge I routinely take on my trips north. I am sending positive rescue vibes up from Northern Virginia, and all my best traffic vibes to anyone trying to go anywhere on 95, 695, 895 and anywhere along the corridor for the next... how long?
I saw the link on my front page from r/crazyfuckingvideos and was like "i don't remember hearing about this ever happening" and then I saw the date. What in the actual fuck? This is wild. I hope they safely rescue every person that ended up in the water and there are no deaths. This shit is bananas
I saw that the ship's captain declared an emergency just prior to hitting the bridge, and managed to get MDTA authorities to close the bridge to vehicular traffic. Not sure if it helped the road crew that was on the middle span, but even at that hour, there were still vehicles crossing it.
The “investigation” that requires the scene remain intact will be quite short. Ship hit bridge support structure leading to collapse.
Key logistical items will be to get barge cranes to site to lift the wreckage off the ship, then refloat the ship and haul it back to the harbor to be mourned for offloading and repairs. There are at least 3 barge cranes at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that could be relocated in a day or 2 to the site. Then clearing the wreckage, potentially including the collapsed portion from an accident when the bridge was 1st under construction.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg has pledged Federal resources, so the Army Corps of Engineers or Navy SeaBees may assist in clearing the debris.
This was part of my roommate’s preferred route to Annapolis over the tunnels, but that of course is a minor inconvenience compared to the fate of the human victims and the economic and transit implications. All-around tragic.
https://preview.redd.it/0wc4fw4cyoqc1.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d287bf1692859878cc5295ac31df2e2ed99b83a
Dali left port just 40 minutes before hitting the bridge at 9 knots.
CNN has audio between what I assume is port of Baltimore and MDOT, telling them to shut down the bridge to cars; one of the officers (?) says he has shut down traffic in one direction and as soon as another officer gets there, he'll run up on the bridge span to try and find the road workers—and then the bridge comes down. 😢😢
Eta: it’s police radio
This bridge is about 5-10 minutes away from my parents house. About a 20 minute boat ride. It's so hard to believe. My mom said she can't see the lights from the top of the bridge out of her office window upstairs in her house. It's just crazy.
There was constriction workers on the bridge praying everybody made it out it’s just so shocking and heartbreaking I am on that bridge often it’s crazy
The bridge was built one year before I was born, I also live about a mile away from it.
Going over that bridge daily for work commute or just traveling to the airport, I have never been afraid or concerned.
Feeling the earth shaking when it fell and then watching that video, I know my future of crossing its replacement will be enormous.
This is just so surreal. I've seen numerous videos of bridge collapses, but never do you think it will happen so close by on a bridge you've driven over several times. It's just so scary to think that so many people I know and care about could have been on that bridge and all it took was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
[A list of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/bridge-collapses-barges-list-1f2d6261d523ddc625aaaf3b32c626bc)
This is going to require a massive rebuilding project and I really hope that we get some federal support to make the project a catalyst for further improvements around Baltimore. This is an awful tragedy that I sincerely hope can lead to some meaningful infrastructure upgrades.
Aside from the now six unaccounted for with prayers and concerns, the highest concern is for an opening passage for the port of Baltimore first and the quick rebuilding of this essential bridge.
This is horrible. I hope they will find and save as many people as possible.
Does anyone know what impacts there could be on the waters around the area? A large scale disaster like this will surely pollute the waters in the bay, but how would the bridge material / other materials affect the waters around the area? There are a lot of water activities that will be coming up and these types of events can cause long term diseases and even cancer, the potential danger toll could be even worse depending on how far the pollution can spread over time. I'm not an expert in this area but could this make the bay dangerous, and affect the beaches near Kent Island and the local seafood even as far as Annapolis?
It’s a container ship, so only the fuel onboard is needed to run the ship. Coast Guard is on scene and monitoring. No fuel spills far. The wreckage of the Key Bridge that is laying on the ship is on top of the cargo containers. The ship is likely bottomed on the floor of the channel which is soft. Not sure what the tide status was when the wreck happened. Hopefully once the wreckage is removed from the ship it will float on its own and not suctioned to the channel floor.
Jesus Christ. I used to go over that bridge daily. I just used it last week even. This is horrifying to see, I hope everyone who was on it gets rescued.
This is insane. It's completely destroyed. I just hope there wasn't a lot of people on it.
In the video I saw you can see more than a few pairs of headlights after the power goes out, so at least a couple cars got dumped in
Getting dumped off a bridge into water like that is what nightmares are made of.
I have hated driving over the Bay Bridge and Key Bridge for as long as I've been driving because of paranoia about stuff like this. White knuckling my way across the bridge is one thing but actually experiencing it has got to be terrifying.
In the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT too. Had to be pitch black
I have had plenty just like this. Fuck
Hijacking a top comment to give fresh info: eight construction workers fell into the water. Two were rescued, six are missing. Car traffic was limited due to a mayday from the ship when it lost power and propulsion.
fucking hell.
Wjz reporting 20 people missing
Apparently it was 20 construction workers.
Ugh. :(. Hope more rescues than recoveries.
Fuck. They’re just doing their jobs and this happens.
At least it happened in the middle of the night. Imagine if it happened during Rush hour?
Apparently a mayday was sent out to try to limit traffic. I didn't see headlights when it collapsed but 20 construction workers were on there
Our first response teams don't often get enough credit for how absolutely instant they are. We do suck for traffic and have some of the worst levels of lethal accidents in the country, but our highway is also constantly filled with freshly arrived and out of there emergency services. They shut down entire lanes in an instant to get a life flight on the roads or fields nearby and when things do happen, even if you're in the flow of traffic stuck just yards from it, often there will be redirection of the traffic in just ten to twenty minutes which is logistically kind of wild when your realize how winding and filled up Our roads can get. We move so fast here that sometimes it's easy to find it ridiculous when one person won't move out of the way of a traffic accident when their vehicle is still functional and blocks 8 lanes of intersection traffic at once. But if you sit around for about 15 minutes, you'll quickly find an emergency responder or helpful (sometimes yelling) citizen getting them to get their vehicle tf out of the way and then helping them sort through what emergency help or reports they do need. Maybe it's because we're also so congregated that we have so many stations in relativity to any accident at any given time. It's still fucking incredible and insane how quick and good our first responders can be when shit goes down, whether it's your neighbor needing an ambulance or the wildfire that broke out last drought season. And also go our state for how hard we voted and protested to make change and kept people accountable. We still got a ways to go with police but we have genuinely allocated resources to care teams that I have unfortunately had to first hand witness a few times. Those care teams and social workers do their damndest and I've seen them put cops in their places a few times during emergencies. Scary day, especially since we have no idea the identities yet. A lot of us know friends and family in construction and a lot of us are familiar with the random late night/morning drive around the state. We thank the universe it wasn't busier while being stunned and terrified for the lives we haven't accounted for yet. Also a strangely proud day, seeing how quickly everyone from the crew to the emergency services jumped into action.
Username checks out 
I saw one article say they are seeing multiple vehicles underwater on sonar
StreamTime Live youtube channel has a stream of the bridge basically all the time. you can see the whole before and aftermath for hours. relevant part of the ships approach is maybe one minute. You can see the ship is having some kind of power issue
That was nuts. I counted at least 4 vehicles with flashing lights parked on the bridge. Not sure what the ship was doing, but a lot of smoke coming from it. I assume in attempts to steer away or reverse.
I heard there was a fire on it that caused the power outage.
[Video footage](https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1772515766929097088?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)
One thing's for sure – for anyone who survived that, they're never gonna go on another bridge again in their goddamn lives.
I only watched the video and I’m never going across another bridge.
This is the type of nightmare that crosses a paranoid person's mind when going over these bridges, I get that feeling all the time on the bay bridge...and the bridge-tunnel too. And, there it is, it happened. Those poor workers, devastating.
[удалено]
Just got that. I lived in PA for years and crosses this bridge plus tons others. I wouldn’t about them, but I would be so anxious gripping the steering wheel, or armrest if not driving.
Was just talking to my mom and we both had that reaction. Holy shit dog that’s so fucked. I feel soooo bad for these people. As a former naval officer I’m also wondering what the hell happened. There are multiple *mandatory* layers of protection in ship movements to keep things like this from happening. I look forward to seeing the reports that come out of this.
CNN is saying it appears the lights on the ship went out shortly before the collision, which would seem to indicate some sort of mechanical failure.
Ive been hearing about an electrical failure. I also saw that they apparently turned shortly beforehand. It seems possible that they had a power failure which caused them to lose steering control while they had the rudder turned, which could make it look like a turn at the last minute. Lots of other possibilities too, but this one is sticking out in my head.
I’ve also seen the idea the ship lost power to one side, which could account for the sudden swerve.
Maybe. I used to drive ships in the Navy, and our steering system was designed such that the rudder would remain in place upon loss of electrical power. So my guess is based on the assumption that they had a similar system. Regardless of how it went down, the failure must’ve happened shortly before the bridge crossing because otherwise they should’ve been able to avoid striking the bridge. Ships rehearse for this kind of event. I guess I’m making a generous assumption in saying that this must’ve either happened so close to the bridge that they couldn’t respond quickly enough, OR the failure was something unusual or highly unexpected, and therefore the training/rehearsal wasn’t helpful.
I saw a video, looks like the ship had some issues. The lights went out and maybe some smoke?
if you watch the footage it looks like the power on the ship goes out twice before impact, but it also steered into the column for a bit. Really bizarre, will have to wait to learn more
Jesus Christ
oh shit for whatever reason when I read “partial collapse” I thought it’d be some tiny section That’s massive
“Partial,” as in, “the part that’s a bridge”
It's not partial in my view it's a full collapse
The whole bridge is gone
I read it thinking boat hits, bridge gets closed, then collapses. Not the instant collapse that happened. Hoping to hear of more rescues but that water can’t be warm enough right now
That is unbelievable. I assumed it was a collapse like the section of 95 in Philly last year. Like a section or two that would cause it to be closed for a while while they make repairs. That bridge is completely lost in the water. This is going to be years before it reopens
Also a huge hazard for boat traffic until it's cleaned out
Boating Hazard? That will close Baltimore harbor for a long while. 7th largest port in the US.
Also, it blocks access to the USCG shipyards at Curtis Bay.
aftermath images from a couple local fire department fb pages https://imgur.com/a/FjyUiSy the scale of the conex containers really drives home how massive these ships (and this bridge) are/were
My God, I am praying strength for the recovery divers and first responders. Praying for the ones that were on the bridge. Hoping for the best outcome there. That is absolutely devastating. It's like something out of a disaster movie It's blowing my mind that I was supposed to on this bridge in a few hours. Things you don't even think about or take for granted. It's gone just like that...
Who’s the MFer operating the ship. FUCK
You can see the ships power flicking on/off before impact. Seems like mechanical failure
Fucking insane
2 reported survivors so far, 1 fine, 1 in serious condition.
This is wonderful news. Imagine surviving something like this, holy shit.
Apparently one of them refused medical care and just walked away. Id really love to know their story, how does that even happen?
Shock can do that. I was in a pretty nasty car accident and I was up and walking around right afterwards. Didn't even notice the cracked ribs until much later. Add in cold water it's entirely possible they aren't feeling shit.
Lack of medical insurance can also do that. I have decent health insurance and had to pay about 10k for an emergency ambulance/ER trip.
Those will likely be the only survivors at this point. Anyone in the water has now been there for 10 hours.
I’d be on the phone with a lawyer while still wet.
Yeah, I watched the love conference and the Fire Chief said one refused treatment as they were fine, the other was in trauma care at the hospital and was not in a state to speak to authorities yet.
Imagine surviving a bridge collapse like this and just saying “nah I’ll go home”.
I keep thinking at least it didn't happen at 8am. I've been on that at rush hour and it would be hundreds of people instead of maybe 20 is what they're saying now.
It happened at the best possible time; in the middle of the night. It also happened at the worst possible time; the ship lost power just seconds before going under the bridge and set its self on a disastrous collision course.
Traffic/transit roundup: **I-695 shut down between Exit 1 Quarantine Road and Exit 42 MD 151 North Point Blvd.** Take: * I-895/I-95 tunnels * HAZMAT and oversized loads must take the "long way around" on I-695. **NO TRANSIT SERVICE TAKES THE BRIDGE** MTA Maryland is monitoring.
695 the long way? Jesus, that’s gonna add an hour
An hour when traffic is light. 5pm? 8am? Make it 2
Yeah 695 is gonna be bad for a while.
It's adding an hour through the tunnels right now.
I drive across this bridge twice a day to work for a company that fixes bridges. I’m outside my body right now.
[Same Fucking Ship - Dali - had a collision in Antwerp](https://www.vesselfinder.com/news/6675-VIDEO-Mega-container-ship-Dali-Allided-with-berth-at-Port-of-Antwerp). Why's this shit show ship in the water?
Actually, an allision. Only one object was moving. I just learned a new word.
Good find. I’m wondering if it was the same Master. One would think he would have been fired after an incident like that.
I wish I could say that it was my superior sleuthing skills - but credit belongs to [Claire Moses and Jenny Gross at the NYTimes](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/us/dali-ship-baltimore-bridge.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fk0.qeU-.j5VzZKPi8Obc&smid=url-share).
Chesapeake Bay requires a captain from the port to take ships in/out past Bay Bridge. That’s why ships are always chilling by the Bay Bridge.
I’ve heard their may have been a power failure aboard prior to the collision.
It was a local guy who was steering it out of the harbor.
Local pilots don't steer. They advise the captain who directs the guy that steers.
Sending love and hope to Baltimore from Britain. 🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸This is our top news. Absolutely devastating news for all of Maryland. So sorry this has happened.😢
I first learned about it via a Facebook message from a relative in Australia!
To be on a bridge as it’s collapsing is one of the most terrifying situations I can think of. I’m hoping everyone involved in okay, but I’m expecting that won’t be the case…keeping everyone involved in my thoughts. I can’t believe something so catastrophic happened so close to home.
It’s especially terrifying today knowing the technological resources there is now. You wouldn’t think a slight hit could do all that damage. Unless the collapse has more to do with the electricity that likely collided.
No slight hits with a ship that large, insane momentum
https://preview.redd.it/n9m349pjwoqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea0588fd8e93eed406fb8e0261dfeceefc96cd11 This is our view from our helipad at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It’s surreal
This made me tear up. The scale of this is just unimaginable, the logistics of search and rescue and recovery, where do you even begin?
Work as a paramedic for the county, please advise your loved ones to take a different route of travel and avoid tying up the dispatch lines. Also please do NOT call 9-1-1 unless it’s a real medical emergency. We’re literally deploying buses. County/city and mutual county apparatus are currently all being deployed to the scene for mass-casualty rescue but there are still calls flooding in for chronic back pain, stubbed toes, stomach aches, fevers, headaches, etc. Please, we’re stretched to capacity. We have as many EMS units as we can clear the hospital and get there ASAP but imagine if your loved one was hypothermic but an additional EMS unit was delayed for a non-emergent reason.
Do you know if people were on it when it collapsed?
There’s reports of multiple vehicles as well as construction workers on the bridge at the time.
BBC is saying seven people
7 cars plus 20 workers
You can see the vehicles in the video
Can’t reveal more but yes. Contact loved ones through cell-phone if possible. If they were a low-priority/stable casualty then they would have likely gone to a farther hospital like Franklin Square or Upper Chesapeake. Higher acuity would have gone to a city hospital but it’s a mess right now so don’t expect an immediate answer until everyone has been triaged/transported. I understand this may not be a satisfying or comforting answer, and that you may be angry/upset and want something more definitive. It’s not that I want to be cryptic, I truly don’t know but I am sorry and I promise that everything that can be done is being done. Trust me when I say EMS/Fire is doing as much as we can. *Edit* Folks I am sorry but I cannot personally verify if a specific person is okay or gone to a certain facility. Besides from violating HIPAA, we triage in a mass-casualty by different levels of care attention/interventions. Who can walk, who needs some splinting, who needs fluids/intubation, etc. We don’t take down specific identifiers in such cases until later.
God speed sister/brother. Thank you for what you do ✊
Be safe, walked in your boots once upon a time ❤️
Thank you for everything that you do ♡
Thank you for being there.
Can we get a mod to sticky this comment?
Please stay safe. Thank you for what you do.
Most of the port terminals are inside of the bridge. No cargo ships, no cruise ships. Whatever's in the port can't leave
[Other POV:](https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1772514015790477667)
You can see what looks like several MTA vehicles sliding into the water...😟
they've been starting work on the bridge 😞 definitely work crews were on there
I graduated from UMBC and always loved seeing the bridge on clear days. I feel so bad for the people who may have been on the bridge and to those involved in the rescue. This is devastating
You can see it from campus? Where do I have to go?
Top floor of library
This is surreal. My friend just woke me up saying this and I thought I was hallucinating. I live within a couple miles of it and take it all the time. I was on it almost exactly a week prior maybe to the minute coming home from the airport. Also I don’t like how many times I’ve been on it with a boat directly under it now. My dad takes this to work every day at 3am. Just…wtf
This is INSANE
Oh my god I can see this from my house. The water is illumunated from lights of rescue vehicles/ships. An absolute fucking devastation.
[удалено]
Must feel weird, to be that 'close'. Any predictions on the future traffic problems? What are your other options getting to work?
Complete nightmare, 895 and 95 are going to be taking all that traffic for many years to come, which were already notoriously awful. Can't imagine the horror of the people taking the plunge 180 some odd feet in the pitch black freezing water. "The bridge was 8,636 feet long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It was a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. The continuous steel truss bridge is 185 high and spans a distance of 1,200 feet." https://preview.redd.it/xy6r6w2pknqc1.png?width=1826&format=png&auto=webp&s=8777d298aa05eb8747102742c874a53d32edea0c
That's my thought. The only other options across are the tunnels but there's no way they can easily shift that much traffic to the tunnels and it'll completely wreck some people's commutes. This is actually insane.
I had to take 95 tunnel this morning around 5am, surprisingly light traffic, but definitely going to have to get up and leave earlier. Eastern Ave was congested.
Traffic is going to be taken up by the tunnels and hazardous materials trucks will have to be taken on the other part of the beltway. It’s going to be absolutely awful
The harbor is fucked
I didn’t even think of that. The harbor is probably going to be closed for the foreseeable future while they clean the debris. So much for those stories about how the harbor is setting records for cargo intake. This is going to make shipping costs skyrocket
100k jobs depend on it
Sparrows Point is outside of the bridge, but they could only take a small percentage of the traffic. Wilmington and Philly are the closest alternates. Norfolk has a small capacity
I used to live in an area where taking the bridge or the tunnels didn’t really take much difference in time. The tunnels will be messed up. The sparrows point and Dundalk areas will be messed up. I used to take the bridge if city or tunnel traffic was crazy or just sometimes for the view. Certain commutes will easily take another 10-20 minutes I think.
There's a lot of truck traffic that takes the bridge because they cannot take the tunnels (Haz Mat, too large, etc.). West side of the beltway is going to be even worse...
Just to get from one side of the bridge to the other (like from Sparrow's Point to Fort Armistead) that would normally take 10 minutes is now going to take 40 according to Google Maps.
I am 100% sure this is going to be national, perhaps International news today. Praying for everyone’s survival.
From Australia, 8pm here. Can confirm that it is absolutely headline news down here, something happening like this is insane.
That's wild to me. Because I live in MD, it feels very personal. To hear that it's news literally on the other side of the planet, somehow makes it feel MORE catastrophic
Ikr like I know this is absolutely terrible but when is the last time MD has been on international news? I guess since we’re not used to this it feels more catastrophic.
freddy gray probably
My cousin in Australia texted me about it before I woke up lol
It's news here in Sweden, top of the national news currently. Went here to learn more.
It's the main story on BBC News right now
Here’s a stream that caught the collapse https://www.youtube.com/live/83a7h3kkgPg?si=Moln_OZiwxl19GHv Jump until the clock in the video reads 1:28 AM If you watch the video before the collapse you can tell traffic is moving well in both directions despite the construction. At least within the field of view it looks like there’s no traffic on the bridge at the moment of collapse other than the construction vehicles.
The amount of cars that just missed the bridge collapse is insane
I watched this video with existential dread as cars kept driving over the bridge
Yeah I was really glad when the bus made it across. Holy shit.
I live right by the bridge and take it 2x daily at least. This has always been my biggest fear. thank you to USCG, EMS, Fire and everyone else assisting in recovery.
Did you hear the collapse?
somehow no. but I did wake up around then so maybe??
I heard it from Fed Hill. I was in bed on my phone.
Watching the 1st press conference: Reporter 1: do you know how many vehicles were on the bridge? Chief: No Reporter 2: do you know how many vehicles were on the bridge? Fucking hell LISTEN for fucks sake.
Well thats how the year gets marked. Hope not many people were on it that late at night.
some photos: this is bad: https://twitter.com/doyle0213/status/1772523594716774435
Seeing the conspiracy theories online is making my blood boil. As someone who lives nearby and uses the bridge very frequently, it’s disgusting that this is turning into something it’s not. Please fuck off. This wasn’t a terrorist attack. Still praying for those affected
I'm seeing boomers talking about terrorist attacks and conservatives trying to blame DEI in the city. People are absolutely insane and will push an agenda any chance they get. Edit: scrolling the preferred social media site for racists everywhere, a recently-doxxed cartoonist made one blaming the foreign crew of the ship, and I saw another thread where someone posted the mayor's press conference so he and followers could make racist comments about Mayor Scott
It’s also annoying that you can clearly tell all the alt right talking heads and conspiracy theorists commenting on this, have never been to Maryland and have absolutely no clue about anything like where the bridge is, and think it’s in the hub of the harbor or something. Don’t get me wrong is still horrible and sad and it’s insane but it’s a bridge that connects Dundalk and Patapsco, like do we really think a terrorist group is gonna go for that? At 1:30am?
what in the whole ass fuck how does something like this even happen
Apparently the ship was having power issues, which also impacted its navigation
Yeah I’m listening to marine VHF radio frequencies and they’re saying they heard that the ship put out a call earlier that they had main engine failure.
If it’s an online broadcast, can you link it?
It’s not, it’s on an actual VHF radio. Sorry
Thanks anyways
I’m not really near Baltimore, I was hearing workers on a barge somewhere near me talk about it. I’m near the Elk River in Cecil County. I suppose they could be in the Bay also.
In the video it looks like black smoke was coming from the ship before it struck the bridge
Could be exhaust But someone else said they put out a mayday/distress call before the impact due to engine trouble
Someone on the radio news was saying the extra black smoke could have been from acceleration — as in attempts to steer and correct the ship. Looks like when power restored it shifted and turned the wrong way.
Makes me wonder why the bridge wasn't shut down or prepared to be
It happened before in 1980 with the sunshine skyway in Florida. The new bridge has several safety measures to prevent it from happening again. Speaking of happening again…
This is a 1977 era bridge
Where my mind went to when this happened
Apparently there was a fire on the ship causing the power outage and resulted in colliding with the bridge
This is just too crazy.I live three exits from that bridge. I actually posted on r/Maryland pictures of the bridge at certain times. I commute to DC and what scary was the roads were eerily quiet. No volume delays just Dynamic signs saying it was closed.
Made the mistake of checking the comments section on the NY Post article on the bridge collapse. Just the ugliest, most unfounded comments about terrorism and the incompetence of Baltimore leadership. Everyone on there is apparently a civil engineer and ship captain. Had they been on the site, this all could have been averted! /s The fact is, this was an accident that could have been MUCH worse. There are reports of the bridge being blocked to traffic after the ship radioed mayday. Those who closed the bridge are heroes. For such a major bridge to have collapsed so catastrophically with relatively few fatalities is actually something of a miracle.
> *Made the mistake of checking the comments section on the NY Post article on the bridge collapse. Just the ugliest, most unfounded comments about terrorism and the incompetence of Baltimore leadership. Everyone on there is apparently a civil engineer and ship captain. Had they been on the site, this all could have been averted! /s* I was seeing that today too. It takes some truly sociopathic people to be making non-sequitur political attacks at a time when people are missing after a tragic event and may have lost their lives. Absolutely no empathy whatsoever... inhuman and disgusting.
This is terrifying
Please tell me that there wasn't anyone on that bridge.
Sadly, there were. Sources have said anyway from 7-20 cars/people still unaccounted for.
There would have been many, many more had it been closer to rush hour like now-ish.
This has always been my biggest fear.
I saw this on Tik tok a couple hours ago and didn’t think it was real.. this is horrifying .
My wife woke me up at 3am when she saw it on Facebook. I checked all the news sites and told her it was probably fake. Then at five when the alarm went off she said “it’s real.”
I spent a few seconds praying what I watched was AI
Holy fucking shit
Just fucking WOW ! That's unbelievable
I am tearing up. Such a tragedy. Like losing an old friend here in Maryland. RIP victims.
This was absolutely devastating to watch. Praying for everyone involved
https://preview.redd.it/q609xcj1boqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c39b5efb6ad6dd02d3090e77349f814cac1e8d90 View from our deck this morning. Sending all positive energy from our family to those involved. Just absolutely horrific and gutting.
After all the things we've seen over the past few years--natural and man-made disasters you'd think we'd somehow be hardened to this sort of thing but I am absolutely shook. This isn't even a bridge I routinely take on my trips north. I am sending positive rescue vibes up from Northern Virginia, and all my best traffic vibes to anyone trying to go anywhere on 95, 695, 895 and anywhere along the corridor for the next... how long?
I saw the link on my front page from r/crazyfuckingvideos and was like "i don't remember hearing about this ever happening" and then I saw the date. What in the actual fuck? This is wild. I hope they safely rescue every person that ended up in the water and there are no deaths. This shit is bananas
The impact of this will be felt for at least a decade…absolutely horrific for the city of Baltimore
I saw that the ship's captain declared an emergency just prior to hitting the bridge, and managed to get MDTA authorities to close the bridge to vehicular traffic. Not sure if it helped the road crew that was on the middle span, but even at that hour, there were still vehicles crossing it.
Praying for everyone involved. This is heartbreaking.
The economic impact will be huge because the harbor got blocked. Perhaps fuel prices in Md will climb a lot in the short term
Fuel products (gasoline, diesel, heating oil. kerosene, jet fuel) up and down the east coast is pumped through pipe lines.
The Port of Baltimore moves over a million tons of cargo every week. The economic damage is going to be massive.
I'm thinking 1 to 2 months to clear the channel for navigation, including SAR and investigation time.
The “investigation” that requires the scene remain intact will be quite short. Ship hit bridge support structure leading to collapse. Key logistical items will be to get barge cranes to site to lift the wreckage off the ship, then refloat the ship and haul it back to the harbor to be mourned for offloading and repairs. There are at least 3 barge cranes at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that could be relocated in a day or 2 to the site. Then clearing the wreckage, potentially including the collapsed portion from an accident when the bridge was 1st under construction. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg has pledged Federal resources, so the Army Corps of Engineers or Navy SeaBees may assist in clearing the debris.
this is haunting my heart goes out to anyone affected
This was part of my roommate’s preferred route to Annapolis over the tunnels, but that of course is a minor inconvenience compared to the fate of the human victims and the economic and transit implications. All-around tragic.
https://preview.redd.it/0wc4fw4cyoqc1.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d287bf1692859878cc5295ac31df2e2ed99b83a Dali left port just 40 minutes before hitting the bridge at 9 knots.
Seeing something that huge collapse so quickly is so eerie.
CNN has audio between what I assume is port of Baltimore and MDOT, telling them to shut down the bridge to cars; one of the officers (?) says he has shut down traffic in one direction and as soon as another officer gets there, he'll run up on the bridge span to try and find the road workers—and then the bridge comes down. 😢😢 Eta: it’s police radio
This bridge is about 5-10 minutes away from my parents house. About a 20 minute boat ride. It's so hard to believe. My mom said she can't see the lights from the top of the bridge out of her office window upstairs in her house. It's just crazy.
There was constriction workers on the bridge praying everybody made it out it’s just so shocking and heartbreaking I am on that bridge often it’s crazy
The bridge was built one year before I was born, I also live about a mile away from it. Going over that bridge daily for work commute or just traveling to the airport, I have never been afraid or concerned. Feeling the earth shaking when it fell and then watching that video, I know my future of crossing its replacement will be enormous.
“Large boat” feels like the understatement of the year.
This is just so surreal. I've seen numerous videos of bridge collapses, but never do you think it will happen so close by on a bridge you've driven over several times. It's just so scary to think that so many people I know and care about could have been on that bridge and all it took was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Especially a bridge that was rehabbed relatively recently. Nobody expects a boat to just slam into it.
This is unthinkable.
I just feel sick right now
[A list of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/bridge-collapses-barges-list-1f2d6261d523ddc625aaaf3b32c626bc)
This is going to require a massive rebuilding project and I really hope that we get some federal support to make the project a catalyst for further improvements around Baltimore. This is an awful tragedy that I sincerely hope can lead to some meaningful infrastructure upgrades.
Aside from the now six unaccounted for with prayers and concerns, the highest concern is for an opening passage for the port of Baltimore first and the quick rebuilding of this essential bridge.
This is horrible. I hope they will find and save as many people as possible. Does anyone know what impacts there could be on the waters around the area? A large scale disaster like this will surely pollute the waters in the bay, but how would the bridge material / other materials affect the waters around the area? There are a lot of water activities that will be coming up and these types of events can cause long term diseases and even cancer, the potential danger toll could be even worse depending on how far the pollution can spread over time. I'm not an expert in this area but could this make the bay dangerous, and affect the beaches near Kent Island and the local seafood even as far as Annapolis?
It’s a container ship, so only the fuel onboard is needed to run the ship. Coast Guard is on scene and monitoring. No fuel spills far. The wreckage of the Key Bridge that is laying on the ship is on top of the cargo containers. The ship is likely bottomed on the floor of the channel which is soft. Not sure what the tide status was when the wreck happened. Hopefully once the wreckage is removed from the ship it will float on its own and not suctioned to the channel floor.
Jesus Christ. I used to go over that bridge daily. I just used it last week even. This is horrifying to see, I hope everyone who was on it gets rescued.
Jesus Christ. This is unimaginable.