The
Francis
Scott
Key
Bridge
in
Baltimore
collapsed
in
the
early
morning
hours
of
Tuesday,
according
to
the
Maryland
Transportation
Authority.
The
cause
of
the
collapse
was
a
container
ship
striking
a
column,
which
sent
the
bridge
into
the
water
of
the
Patapsco
River
below.
The
entire
thing
was
captured
on
video
during
a
livestream.
The
YouTube
livestream,
maintained
by
StreamTime
Live,
is
one
of
at
least
nine
currently
broadcasting,
with
others
showing
places
like
New
York
Harbor,
Port
Huron
in
Michigan,
and
Chicago’s
Midway
Airport.
The
livestream
didn’t
capture
any
audio
of
the
bridge
collapse
in
Baltimore.
The Associated Press reports that several vehicles have fallen into the water, a claim that seems supported by the video evidence. But there’s no official word yet on whether any people were on the bridge when it collapsed. Early reports from the Baltimore Sun indicate there may have been at least seven construction workers on the bridge when it was hit but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland (March 26, 2024)
Video
shared
by
the
news
aggregator
Raw
Alerts
on
X
appeared
to
show
another
angle
on
the
bridge
collapse,
with
someone
in
the
background
shouting
obscenities.
And
while
it
looks
like
the
same
bridge,
it’s
not
clear
who
originally
captured
the
video.
Aggregator
accounts
on
X
often
post
images
and
video
without
explaining
their
sources,
which
tends
to
allow
misinformation
to
spread
in
a
breaking
news
situation.
Another video, captured by Facebook user Bobby Gattus, showed the aftermath of the bridge collapse. Several aircraft appear to be shining their lights into the water, presumably to search for any survivors.
“Absolutely mind-blowing... see all the containers crushed by the bridge,” Gattus says in the video. “Absolutely devastating.”
Adam
Parker,
an
open
source
investigator
from
the
UK’s
Sky
News
first
identified
the
container
ship
that
hit
the
bridge
as
the
Singapore-flagged
Dali.
Shortly
after
4:30
a.m.
ET,
the
Dali
reported
that
all
crew
members,
including
two
pilots,
were
accounted
for
and
there
were
no
injuries,
according
to
the
New
York
Times.
The
mayor
of
Baltimore,
Brandon
M.
Scott,
tweeted
early
Tuesday
he
was
in
contact
with
the
governor
of
Maryland
as
well
as
emergency
responders.
And
local
traffic
has
been
alerted
to
avoid
the
southeast
corridor
of
I-695.
“MAJOR BALTIMORE TRAFFIC ALERT: AVOID I-695 southeast corridor. I-695 Key Bridge collapse due to ship strike. Active scene. Use I-95 or I-895,” Maryland Transportation Authority tweeted at 3:20 a.m. ET.
A ship carrying four giant shipping cranes for delivery and installation at the Port of Baltimore, passes under the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in this file photo from June 20, 2012. Photo: Patrick Semansky (AP)
The
four-lane
Francis
Scott
Key
Bridge,
often
shortened
to
just
the
Key
Bridge
and
named
for
the
author
of
the
National
Anthem,
opened
in
1977
and
stretches
1.6-miles.
There were, of course, several conspiracy theories already floating around on X about the bridge collapse being “deliberate.” One user even called it “unthinkable” that such a thing could happen in the United States. But there have been at least 35 bridge failures in the U.S. since the year 2000, including many that didn’t even involve a ship running into them.
There’s absolutely no evidence of any grand conspiracy behind Tuesday’s bridge collapse in Baltimore. But that won’t stop a lot of people on social media from speculating wildly, as they always do.
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