Video surveillance caught the moment when a cargo ship hit a column holding the bridge, throwing cars and people into the dark, cold water.
The 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River fell down early Tuesday morning, around 1:30 a.m., after being hit by a big ship.
In a split second, the bridge fell into the water.
The frightening moment was caught on video.
Almost right away, search and rescue teams set out to find at least seven people, but maybe as many as twenty.
“We are in the midst of managing a mass casualty multi agency incident here,” said Kevin Cartwright, who is in charge of media for the Baltimore City Fire Department. His words to CNN were, “Unfortunately, we understand that there are up to 20 individuals who may be in the Patapsco river as well as multiple vehicles.”
Paul J. Wiedefeld, who is the Secretary of Transportation for Maryland, stated that there was a construction crew working on the bridge at the time it fell.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called the tragedy “unthinkable” at a news conference Tuesday morning. “This is a tragedy you can never imagine. Never did you think you would see the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of a movie … Our focus should be the preservation of life.”
As soon as the sun came up on Tuesday morning, search and rescue operations started.
“The conditions are difficult,” Johnny Olszewski, the executive of Baltimore County, told CNN. “We’re talking about a deep channel port. It’s 40, 50 feet of water, strong currents. The weather is windy, the water is cold. And so we certainly worry about those who are in the water, not to mention the fall from the bridge.”
Two people had been pulled from the water by 9:00 a.m. EDT. One person was said to be in “very serious” condition, and the other person was said to be fine.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security for the US, said there were “no indications” that the crash was planned.
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Source: dailypositiveinfo.com
