The freighter ‘Dali’ notified authorities that it had lost control and propulsion as it left the port of Baltimore (east coast of the United States), shortly before colliding and causing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse, according to a report declassified from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The accident took place around 1:30 local time (05:30 GMT), when the freighter collided with that bridge built in 1977 and caused its almost total collapse and at least six people missing.
“The ship notified the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the ship and that a collision with the bridge was possible,” indicates the report cited by ABC, which indicates that the impact of the huge freighter with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge caused “a complete collapse.”
Images of the collision from a camera installed in the Port of Baltimore show how the 300-meter-long freighter loses electricity and plunges into darkness several times before impact.
A large column of smoke, apparently coming from the ship’s chimneys, is expelled from the stern before the collapse, which occurred while the passage of trucks and vehicles was visible on this bridge of more than 2.5 kilometers in length in the I-695 highway.
The Singaporean company Synergy Group, which operates the ship that caused the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore (United States) this Tuesday, confirmed that none of the 22 crew members of the ship were injured and assured that it is collaborating with the authorities to determine the causes of the incident. .
“All crew members, including the two pilots, have been located and there are no reports of injuries. There have also been no (reports of) contamination” of the waters, the company said in a statement, which indicated that all crew members are from Indian nationality.
Synergy Group indicated that “the exact cause has not yet been determined” why its ship collided with one of its pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the American city, causing the infrastructure to collapse.
“The owners and managers (of the ship) are cooperating fully with the federal and state government agencies” of the North American nation, the Singaporean company stressed, ensuring that they have mobilized their incident response service.
The Singapore-flagged cargo ship ‘Dali’ was leaving Baltimore on its way to Colombo (Sri Lanka) and has a cargo capacity of 95,000 tons.
The collapsed bridge is part of the I-95 freeway system, one of the most important and busiest land transportation routes in the United States. The authorities indicate that about 31,000 vehicles pass through that bridge every day for a total of more than 11 million per year.
At least six people are missing and two have been rescued, although the number of victims could be higher.
