Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse: What we know amid investigation

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that Grace Ocean Private owns the ship.

(NEXSTAR) — Early Tuesday morning, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a major bridge in Baltimore, collapsed just seconds after being struck by a cargo ship. Six people are now missing and presumed dead.

Video posted to social media showed the bridge bend, snap, and plunge into the river below, sending several vehicles into the chilly waters. Crews have since been searching for survivors.

“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said early Tuesday, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

Here’s what we know so far.

What do we know about the victims?

A construction crew of eight people, who were repairing potholes, are believed to be the only ones on the Key Bridge at the time of the collision, authorities said Tuesday morning. Their vehicles were also on the bridge.

The repairs the crew were working on had “nothing to do with a structural issue at all on the facility,” Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul J. Wiedefeld noted.

He added that two people had been rescued. Tuesday afternoon, Dr. David Efron, chief of trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, said one patient remains hospitalized while another had been released.

Six people remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead, Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of the company that employed the construction workers, Brawner Builders, said. He added that the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it came apart. No bodies have been recovered.

“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers. But we never foresaw that the bridge would collapse.”

While authorities confirmed sonar had detected vehicles in the water, they declined to comment on how many vehicles fell in during the collapse. Wiedefeld said authorities do not believe anyone is trapped within the submerged vehicles.

What do we know about the cargo ship, the Dali?

The crew on the ship — which was traveling at 8 knots (nearly 10 mph) at the time, according to Gov. Wes Moore — did issue a “mayday,” alerting authorities that the vessel had lost propulsion before the collision. Moore added that that information did allow traffic to be stopped from coming over the bridge, potentially saving even more from falling into the water.

“We’re thankful that between the mayday and collapse, that we had officials who were able to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge,” Moore explained.

Synergy Marine Group — which manages the ship, called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while in the control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help navigate vessels safely into ports. The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.

The group said all crew members, including the two pilots on board, were accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries. Some of the ship’s cargo — nearly 4,700 shipping containers — could be seen dangling over the side.

The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet long and about 157 feet wide, according to the website.

Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel, which was carrying its customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were on board.

Inspectors found a problem with the Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent examination didn’t identify any deficiencies, according to the shipping information system Equasis.

What do we know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

The bridge, located south of Baltimore, spans more than 1.5 miles across the Patapsco River. It opened in March 1977, serving as a major connecting point.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” has undergone various renovations over the years, but was “up to code,” Gov. Moore said Tuesday.

In 2023, more than 12.4 million vehicles crossed the Key Bridge, according to data collected by NewsNation. Daily, the bridge serves about 30,000 commuters, Moore added.

What’s next in the investigation?

During Tuesday’s press conference, numerous agencies were highlighted for their contributions to the ongoing search efforts. Authorities listed local, state, and federal agencies, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the FBI.

Later in the day, NTSB chair Homendy said the agency would be leading the investigation, with assistance from the Coast Guard.

Moore, as well as Bill DelBagno, the newly-named special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, confirmed that “there is no specific or credible information to suggest that there are ties to terrorism in this incident.”

“Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here,” President Joe Biden said while delivering brief remarks from the White House Tuesday afternoon.

Biden also said he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he intends for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.

For now, Wiedefeld said all vessel traffic into and out of the port would be suspended until further notice, though the facility was still open to trucks.

The collapse is not likely to have a big effect on worldwide trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels, but the port’s facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as farm equipment and autos, said Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.