(IntegrityPress.org) – Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has asked the media to refrain from showing footage of a shipping container crashing into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early on Tuesday March 26. Speaking to CNN via telephone, he referred to the film “traumatizing” and added that nobody would want to see footage that showed a loved one potentially being injured or killed.
Only two of the eight people who were on the bridge at the time are known to have survived. Two people were pulled from the Patapsco River and taken to hospital, with one being released the same day. Both are reportedly part of a construction team who were filling in potholes on the bridge at the time of its collapse. Six more people are understood to have fallen into the waters, and rescue teams continued to search survivors until early on Wednesday morning, when the search’s aim officially turned to recovering the bodies of the missing six.
The Maersk shipping container, under the management of Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, had been travelling quickly at a speed of eight knots when its steering failed. The crew were able to send a mayday message to warn bridge officials just 90 seconds before the devastating crash that destroyed the bridge, sending the whole bridge into the water. Thanks to the mayday signal, officials were able to shut down access to the bridge, preventing any more vehicles from entering it before the collision at 1.27am local time.
Officials say that the ship lost power immediately before the crash, and that there is no indication of the crash being caused intentionally. After colliding with the bridge, the ship caught fire, sending thick, dark smoke into the Baltimore skyline. The bridge is used by 40,000 vehicles each day and is a vital transport link for the city’s commuters. President Biden has promised to use federal money to rebuild the bridge but emphasized that finding the missing workers remained the primary focus so soon after the incident.
Copyright.org 2024, IntegrityPress.org
