Major Baltimore bridge collapses, six unaccounted for

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Yonhap) -- A major bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed early Tuesday after a Singapore-flagged container ship struck a pillar of the decades-old bridge, leaving at least six people unaccounted for, the state authorities said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other U.S. officials said that there was no credible indication yet of a terrorist attack linked to the tragedy, while a frantic search and rescue operation is underway with drones, sonar equipment and other technologies deployed to locate the missing.

The 289-meter-long freighter, named Dali, struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge at around 1:30 a.m. (Eastern Time), making a large section of the bridge collapse into the Patapsco River.

At the time of the collapse, there were at least eight people on the bridge, of which two were rescued with one being hospitalized, according to Maryland officials.

In a press conference, Maryland Gov. Moore said that an early analysis of the collapse "points to an accident."

"The preliminary investigation points to an accident. We haven't seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack," Moore said.

"Our administration is working closely with leaders from all levels of government and society to respond to this crisis and not just by addressing the immediate aftermath but also by building a state that is more resilient and a state that is safer," he added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Baltimore office also said in a social media post that "there is no specific and credible information to suggest any ties to terrorism at this time."

The Maryland authorities confirmed that the crew on the cargo ship notified authorities of a power outage.

Before the collision, the ship issued a Mayday call, a distress signal that allowed officials to control traffic going into the bridge, according to the Maryland governor.

"We're thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, that we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge," Moore was quoted by CNN as saying.

Footage of the collapse on YouTube showed the freighter ramming into a pillar of the bridge with its collapse happening in less than a minute shortly thereafter.

Maryland authorities said that the ill-fated bridge was "fully up to code" while an early analysis suggests the collapse was an accident.

The 2.6-kilometer-long steel arch bridge opened in 1977 and has served as the outermost crossing of Baltimore Harbor.

The collapse happened less than 30 minutes after the cargo ship started its weekslong trip to Sri Lanka, according to The New York Times. The ship was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, a South Korean shipbuilder, in 2015.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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