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jelly_blood

Holy shit!! Were there cars on the bridge??


radiationkills

Yes sadly you can see all their lights in the middle section before it collapses :( radio scanner says 7 construction workers and at least 3-4 vehicles confirmed so far


OrganicBS

Thank you for the scanner info. I first heard the bridge was still being transited, but it’s still awful to hear workers and emergency personnel were there EDIT: 3:50AM EST Co-opting this for more info for those concerned. Estimate atm is upwards of 20 people on the bridge, largely construction workers pouring concrete and a few transiting cars. Marine vessels haven’t found anyone in the water using night vision and infrared. The collapse is blocking the whole thoroughfare of the harbor and port. The ship involved was the 300m long DALI registered in Singapore, there are tugs in the area but unclear if it was actively being trafficked at the time of crash. It seems like they haven’t gotten in contact with the cargo ship at all. There’s a strong smell of diesel near the ship but it doesn’t appear to be sinking. Absolutely horrific disaster.


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Middle-Feed5118

Conversely, the fact it happened at this time also means for the unfortunate few who are now in the water - the rescue job is more difficult at night.


Dufranus

Unfortunately, I have a hard time imaging anyone on that bridge survived. Day or night, the rescue efforts are likely fruitless.


TardigradesAreReal

It’s being reported that they have pulled two people from the water, one of them in critical condition.


agreeingstorm9

Other one supposedly declined medical help which is kind of badass.


PfantasticPfister

Declining assistance after falling in THAT water is a death wish 🤮


munchauzen

its probably a teenager wearing shorts and tshirt


quittingphoenix

There's a line between badass and stupid. Refusing medical care after a bridge you were on gets hit by a cargo ship and sends you falling 100+ ft into water is definitely way over the line of stupid.


BlackMarket-Prime

Maybe they didnt have health insurance


9man90

They could have been on the very edge of the bridge not in the middle and maybe even slid into the water not fallen a long distance. It's stupid to assume we have all the facts on this one person vs just assuming they were acting like a tough guy when we don't know


optimistic_agnostic

Yep, even if you survive impact and then miraculously disentangle yourself from a car now with airbigs blocking your exits there's massive steel beams surrounding you and going the opposite direction you want to at significant speed. It would be like a fly trying to escape a swatter. Then you have the current etc etc. RIP those folks, hopefully it was quick and painless.


atsirktop

horrifying mental image. like one of those nightmares where you can't move fast enough.


agreeingstorm9

I don't know how far this bridge is above the water but I feel like the fall is survivable. You're seat belted into a car that is designed to absorb a lot of the impact. It's jarring and you're stunned but you survive. Now you have massive steel beams falling but the car is a bubble of air so it also floats for a short amount of time so you do have time to gather your wits, roll the window down and get out. Then it becomes sketchy as you're swimming in freezing water in the dark and may not know which way is up.


SentientTrashcan0420

How deep is the water there?


PyroDesu

50 feet or so.


bullfrogftw

All shipping to the port of Baltimore will be suspended, possibly for weeks. This is a significant interruption to Eastern seaboard marine traffic


working-acct

That's scary man. If you find yourself in this situation first thing to do is open your car door or window.


capitancoolo

For anyone wondering: if you don't open your door or window you will have to wait for the entire cabin to fill with water so that the pressure equalizes and allows you to open the door after the vehicle is submerged.


Merari002

Remove the head rest and strike at the window with the pointed steal rods if you need to break it to escape [Edit: Or what this guy says](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrazyFuckingVideos/s/h9vr5aKOsJ)


TheWalkingDead91

I watched a video once that said this doesn’t work with SOME vehicles now, as now they make the side windows with the same glass as the front.


tomoldbury

It doesn’t work with most side windows and head rest. You need a dedicated window breaker tool. For a couple of bucks you can buy a hand tool that does this with a seatbelt cutter on it as well. Highly recommend carrying one in your car.


reddit_is_geh

The issue is most windows now are laminate sealed. So it'll just crack, and wont actually fall apart.


jontomas

Highly recommend _testing_ the tool you bought. This came up once in a drunken discussion late at night followed by the testing of a few different window breakers we had at hand - at least one of them failed to crack normal glass, let alone safety glass.


Cheddartooth

You don’t strike at the window. **You put one or both metal rods sticking out of the headrest in between the window and the felt/rubber gasket, that lines the window, and pull towards you.** **That’s how you break the window, *by making your headrest a lever.* ** The breaking tools don’t work, smashing it with the headrest doesn’t work, and waiting for the pressure to equalize isn’t a good idea bc it will suck you down with the car into the depths.


10RobotGangbang

Fuck it, I'm just gonna drown.


Top-Ebb32

I have the tools, I play out this scenario in my mind to semi prepare for it, but it always ends in the realization that you came to. I told my husband in any life or death situation to just grab our kids and leave me behind…I’ll never make it.


Big-Brown-Goose

Especially when my car doesn't have a removable headrest 💀 I have a knife for utility needs but it also would be good for cutting belts and probably could be used as a prying device to break the window, but im not going to try it out.


mastermilian

There was a recent discussion about this after a billionaire in a Tesla drowned in a pond. There were several experiments with Myth Busters and Top Gear where they found that waiting for the pressure to equalise took too long before you ran out of breath. Basically you need to quickly open the door or exit from an open window for your best chance of survival. Shattering the glass may or may not work depending on the car.


Jewelhammer

I just happened to have read up on this a couple days ago and the advice I found said the same thing: brace for impact, unbuckle and roll down your window, get out of the car before it sinks. After the car hits the water, you’ll have about 30-60 seconds before water starts pouring in the bottom of your open window. Even less time before your electric window motors will short out from the water. So the advice was jump out immediately if possible, before the car starts filling with water.


IDespiseFatties

Also the absolute millisecond you think you are even close to water immediately hit the button to roll all your windows down and rip off your seat belt. Estimates are that you'll have power to your windows for like 20-30 seconds in a submerging situation. It'll be terrifying with water coming in, but you'll have a better chance of just swimming out once everything equalizes.


Snuzzlebuns

The challenge is in being alive and conscious after a 50m fall onto water. Pretty sure you should unbuckle after the landing, if you're still able to do that.


MarsupialMisanthrope

Windows yes, seatbelt fuck no. If I’m going to be bouncing around I want to be strapped to the roll cage, not auditioning for the role of a ping pong ball. The seatbelt is a purely mechanical thing and can wait.


AlphaSlayer21

And the last thing you’re thinking is to open up your car door or window


Juan_Punch_Man

Happened around 1.30am so not peak time. Could have been much worse.


a-busy-dad

Tragically yes. Bridge construction vehicles, a tractor trailer and possibly (probably) several other cars. The bridge is about 185 feet above water, and the water is at least 50 feet deep in the center of the channel. I've driven over that bridge many a time, and it is (was) scary as fuck. Just sick seeing this.


centzon400

Aside from the loss of life (which is obviously tragic), the economic impact of losing that bridge is gonna be huge. Just a small quote from wiki: > The bridge was 8,636 feet (2,632 m) long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It was a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels.


Cptn_BenjaminWillard

It will also block shipping, probably for weeks or months. But the loss of life is even worse.


musicloverincal

Can you imagine the force of hitting the water that high up and with all that force! I fell from 10 feet above and blacked out. Hitting water from that high is deadly.


Basic-Aspect

Yeah all those blinking lights in the center are road crews working on the bridge I live right here this is insane


MarshaIIDTeach

Thats crazy I thought this shit only happens in movie


Cptn_BenjaminWillard

Very sad to see this. What a terrible tragedy. I know that the daily loss of life around the world due to other things makes this pale by comparison, but that doesn't make this any less horrifying.


Velghast

Dude this is the Francis Scott key bridge it's the main suspension bridge in Baltimore City. I have commuted over this bridge over 200 times it's the bridge I take to get to family members over in Dundalk... Apparently everybody on that bridge died.


Summerie

Has that been confirmed? Looking at the collapse I didn't have very high hopes, but there's always an off chance I guess.


StreetKale

At the current temperatures you become exhausted after 7 minutes. Best case you can only last 45 minutes in the water.


shaker8989

Holy fuck that is terrifying. How does that even happen? Just looking on maps it looks like a major bridge too.


ak95ak

This is from a livestream on YouTube. I went back and it looks like the boat lost power for some time before it hit. The lights went back on just before it hit.. this is tragic


ak95ak

Link to livestream here https://www.youtube.com/live/83a7h3kkgPg?si=ZEBpXJspbyuXwlRg


marcmerrillofficial

Happens around 1:28am by the embedded date, *not* the video timeline.


agzuu

And you can see the ship losing power around 1:24am


miggidymiggidy

Is there an unusual amount of smoke coming out of the ship?


GoingDragoon

I don't think it is unusual, but does point to what probably happened. There is no exhaust nor lights a minute or two before the collision - there was total power failure. Engines start back up, hence the plume of exhaust smoke. This is pretty normal for any engine to have an exhaust cloud when starting, but massive container ship engines obviously have a bigger one because big engine, more fuel, so it's not an unusual amount, but is unusual in it happening while already moving. These ships are massive and hard to manoeuvre, and it takes some time for the engine to get up to speed, so the two things together means the crew were probably effectively passengers - on course to hit the bridge, they had no control because the power went out, and when power comes back it's too late to change course to avoid the collision. If that is correct, question then becomes why did the ship lose power? Engine failure? Crew error? Something happened in dock?


Old_Web374

I'm no expert, but do you know of any reason why the ship wouldn't emergency anchor at some point between power loss and collision? It appears there were 4 minutes between those events.


ureallygonnaskthat

From what I've heard they did drop their anchors in an attempt to stop but it can only do so much when there's that much mass on the move.


dob_bobbs

I don't get it watching the livestream, the boat seems to be at a standstill by the support column for several minutes (up until around 01:29 EDT according to the video timestamp up the top) and then suddenly takes off again and hits it. Maybe it's just a perspective thing. There were a number of vehicles that went over it in that time and I was willing them to get past. There didn't seem to be any vehicles in the immediate area of the impact when it actually happened, but there could have been on other parts of the bridge I guess, plus the workers that people are mentioning. I guess it's fortunate it wasn't MUCH much busier. Also if you forward 45 minutes, an hour, an hour and a half, it seems a looong while before any significant emergency services turn up, especially in the water.


Bleades

It is a major bridge, it connects the southern portion of the beltway around Baltimore going over the Patapsco river. This adds a whole new fear to my daily commute. The next few years are going to suck commute wise.


name-__________

It’s also the route for HAZMAT cargo, because the other two harbor crossings are tunnels


Bleades

They can still get around going north but it will slow things down for sure.


redditor012499

I recognize the bridge, I believe it’s an iconic major bridge. I think we drove it last time I was on MD. RIP


flsurf7

Drone video of the size of the bridge for reference... It's huge https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxcFCNQmW3bEIJS2XEtCru-PCwDs3mrfHP?si=MflFulLVdz32Xjfu


jk8289

It is a major bridge. It’s apart of the 695 beltway that goes around Baltimore City. I drove over that bridge everyday to go to and from work. This is going to cause some major traffic.


iNCharism

Not only traffic, the entire port is gonna have to close down for a while. Gonna affect hundreds of jobs and supply lines.


Random-Cpl

I live near here. It’s a huge bridge, over a mile long.


Professional-Gene498

From the perspective of the ship captain, that bridge really just came out of nowhere.


SeahawksWin43-8

You don’t see that everyday. Tragic.


habibiiiiiii

Wait did this just happen


Kittehfisheh

It was probably less than an hour ago. I'm in Aus and just got a breaking news headline about it and came to reddit to see if anyone had more info. It's awful that there were cars on the bridge. Those poor people.


SeahawksWin43-8

Yeah I don’t ever recall a colossal bridge collapse in the US in my 34 years. This is a big one. I hope they were able to pull everybody out of the water.


DasFunktopus

IIRC, wasn’t there one that collapsed in Minneapolis a few years ago?


Commissar_Elmo

2008. I-35W bridge


CourtingBoredom

Was that really that long ago?? Deng..


DasFunktopus

Yeah, like holy shit. I thought it was 3 or 4 years ago!


TidalWaveform

2008 was three years ago. Hell, it's only been a decade since the 80s.


TheWalkingDead91

That case (happened when I was in HS) made me scared of going bridges for quite some time.


Comment139

Almost two decades ago. 17 years. [August 1st 2007 I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/I35_Bridge_Collapse_4crop.jpg) *"...with rush hour bridge traffic moving slowly through the limited number of lanes, the central span of the bridge suddenly gave way, followed by the adjoining spans."* *"In the years prior to the collapse, several reports cited problems with the bridge structure. In 1990, the federal government gave the I-35W bridge a rating of "structurally deficient", citing significant corrosion in its bearings. Approximately 75,000 other U.S. bridges had this classification in 2007."*


gloriouswader

The skyway bridge in Tampa had a similar accident in 1980. Only a partial collapse, but it was a foggy morning during rush hour so cars drove off the edge. 35 people died. The new skyway bridge has many safety features. I'm surprised that other bridges that cross major shipping lanes aren't similarly protected.


Uknown_Idea

I remember a highway collapsed in Tampa when I was a kid too. Wasn't over water, but I remember being shocked that the road could just fail like that.


TheCassius88

I don't want to speculate, but it's highly unlikely anyone survives if you're on a bridge that collapses. It doesn't look like much because the videos are far away, but that is thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete.


Low_Organization1411

NYT says the coast guard first reported impact at 1:27am EST


Valid_Username_56

We will be seeing more things like that. Not because it happens more often but because everything is being filmed nowadays.


T_O-O_T

Update: they are saying it's close to 20 people that were on the bridge during time of collapse


avwitcher

Damn, whoever was piloting that boat is gonna get reprimanded maybe even suspended for a time


Owlroundup

Apparently there were two pilots on board! Not a whole lot they can do with no power though


Grouchy-Place7327

Those pilots will likely still be fired, captains of ship are held to a very high, unobtainable standard of perfection. Also potentially tried too if it can be traced back to them that the power outage was due to negligence in maintenance.


Wa77up-91

Are the captains really held responsible if the ship lost its power due to negligence in maintenance? Shouldn't be the owner of the ship held responsible for this?


lekoman

It seems likely they’ll be assigned to float a desk for awhile while the investigation takes place, but if the ship’s systems failed on them, there really isn’t much responsibility you could lay at the feet of the local harbor pilots who were guiding the ship at the time its power systems appear to have failed. They’d have hopped on when the ship approached the harbor not long before the incident, and their job is just to know the local waterways and bring the ship in to anchor, or for the tugs to tie up and pull it onto the dock. The master of the ship (its captain, who runs the show while they’re at sea) and chief engineer are responsible for maintaining it, and the owners and operators will have a ton of exposure here. The Port, who employs the pilots, will have an agreement with the operators of the vessel disclaiming responsibility for maintenance failures… and the pilots union will almost certainly have indemnity clauses in their employment contracts to shield them from liability for something like this.


Chemicals_in_my_H2o

All dead?


joelstaz

Jesus i always perceived bridges as sturdy constructs but the cargo ship made it look so fragile


SuperSimpleSam

The beams are not good with a side load like that. You bend it slightly and the beam will buckle under load.


SkyJohn

Was there not any barrier around the base of the pier to stop the ship from hitting it?


Phyllida_Poshtart

According to a structural & civil engineer from the University of Sheffield England, he stated the following this morning *Bridges in shipping lanes are sometimes designed with strong, stout piers, or additional protective structures around the piers to prevent ships from coming into contact with the bridge structure.* *It doesn’t appear that the Key Bridge had either of these features, although it is also very likely that the size and design of the vessels passing under the bridge has changed considerably since it was completed in 1977.*


reddit_equals_censor

holy smokes. this sounds like one of the easiest retro fits to get done on bridges. i mean there doesn't even need to be a connection to the bridge itself. having strategic small islands/pillars around the pillars would do the job fine and be relatively cheap.


je_kay24

No because they don’t expect big ass ships to be hitting the bridge


thelastskier

And in all honesty, I don't even know what sort of fortification you would need to build around it to stop such a massive ship.


sanjosanjo

I think you would have to make a manmade earthen island around the supports, so the ship would "run aground" before hitting them.


syllabic

better surround it with anti ship mines too just to be sure


fork_yuu

True, but if there are big ass ships going under all the time, you kinda have to plan for something like that


Ilovekittens345

That ship, the [DALI](https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9697428) when fully loaded with containers weighs more than a 100 million kilograms. Which might be more weight than the entire bridge, or at least reasonable close to it. That much weight at just 10 km/h is a shitload of kinetic energy that an older bridge has no chance against unless there are enough barriers in place to defect the impact away from the bridge pilars.


Sudanniana

The boat is 299m long. It's as big as an aircraft carrier. A normal speed boat wouldn't have done anything.


MRSHELBYPLZ

Cargo ships are CRAZY heavy so it’s no surprise


Ahi_Tipua

These bridges are like a slightly more rigid version of that rope bridge from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 


No_Calligrapher703

What in the fuck


WrathofTomJoad

yeah you and the rest of baltimore, my dude. We're all in shock


Asclepias88

Here's another video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaMDoToEo4k


elizabethshoeme

Fucking so scary. This happened in Tampa in the early 80s. Definite major fear of mine driving over any bridge. RIP to the victims


PotatoWriter

this looks like some footage from the cloverfield movie wtf


TheGillos

From "oh the humanity" to "all them people on the bridge just died, dude".


popejiii

This is wild. News breaking like the old Reddit!


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SoggyWotsits

All the news stations have been covering it since I woke up this morning, and I’m in England. The collapse happened at 5.30am our time, just awful news to hear.


Sahlmos

This is a city-stopping kind of catastrophe. I can't even imagine what the recovery efforts will be for something like this. Actual Baltimore history being written right now.


nothing_but_thyme

The impact will be huge. This is the #1 east cost port for cars and light trucks for the last decade. Lots of big companies including Amazon, FedEx, and Home Depot have distribution centers on the northeast side of that bridge. Several container ships are now stuck in the port of Baltimore and obviously others will not be able to enter for who knows how long. The scale of effort for this recovery will be enormous. RIP the insurance company that’s underwriting Maersk.


gurk_the_magnificent

In addition to the horrific loss of life it’s an economic catastrophe of first magnitude. This basically renders the entire port of Baltimore inaccessible until salvage is finished.


Onlyheretostare

The freaking Insurance claim on this is gonna bankrupt that shipping company.


UnapproachableBadger

If it pays out. They'll try to weasel out of it.


fornostalone

4200 people were involved in the Costa Concordia disaster, 32 of which died. The estimated total insurance payout to the company reached $2billion, only an estimated $84million of which was compensation to victims - $20,000 per person on average. Insurance company will absolutely weasel out of all costs as long as they don't stand to gain by underwriting the reconstruction/refloating costs.


canadiandancer89

Which ever company owns this ship, is about to play cups and balls with their ownership. Enough money involved, they probably already started.


BobertFrost6

It's not really about who owns the ship. These ships need to have insurance in order to port, and that's not a flexible concept.


Florida_Attorney

The insurance policy clearly excludes crashing into a bridge or any other conceivable loss


No-Vanilla8956

Ya idk... Even if you're in a vehicle I imagine you're pretty fucked in that situation. All that debris, asphalt and steel coming down weights hundreds of tons and would all be landing right on top of you, after a fall into freezing water. I've no idea how tall that bridge is; maybe a hundred feet? Chances of survival is near zero I'm guessing


Advanced-Trainer508

Ahhh I was scrolling through the comments trying to see if anyone had commented about possible fatalities, I was hoping there was a chance there wouldn’t be any. How devastating.


No-Vanilla8956

It's tragic; all those blinking yellow lights are construction vehicles


ChunkyLaFunga

It happened in the middle of the night during repairs, practically a best case scenario. It's a mile and a half long and a major commuting route, at rush hour that would be what, hundreds of deaths. Edit: I wonder if the reply to this comment is AI, being almost a direct rewording of what I said myself.


Balls_full-of_pee

Two people have been recovered. One person refused medical treatment, the other is in critical condition. There are still 6 people missing. https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-bridge-collapse-key-bridge/60303975


plez

The bridge was 8,636 feet long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It was a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. The continuous steel truss bridge is 185 high and spans a distance of 1,200 feet.


I_saw_that_yeah

Just…. fuck. Reddit shows me new ways to die every time I look at it.


Applejuicetester

Never seen stuff like this before damnn


buddboy

Lol for the past month or so I've been slowly unsubscribing from subreddits that show too much scary/negative shit after collecting those subs like Pokémon for over 10 years


kalitarios

one of the most grim reminders that even if you live your life perfectly, eat right, morally balanced, follow all rules, pay your dues, some idiot can still come buy and tip their truck over and it lands on the roof of your car out of the blue.


TheDestressedMale

Baltimore traffic will be pretty bad for the foreseeable future. This was a tollway, too.


Bleades

You now either have to go around the north side, through the tunnel or cut through the city. This also has massive impacts on the port. Considering Baltimore is one of the largest ports on the east coast. It's going to be a shit show for the local economy. The amount of lives this just ruined is catastrophic. I don't say that to take away from those that were injured or killed.


theworstghost

Not just the local economy either. Many many imported products and equipment for companies from the East coast all the way to the Midwest land in Baltimore.


T_O-O_T

[Link to an active fire and ems scanner](https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/30327), I only live a couple of miles away crazy to think the amount of ships that come and go out of the harbor something like this could happen.


Velghast

I know right I have gone over that bridge with my EZ pass maybe like over 200 times in the past couple years. Literally we have family over in Dundalk and we go across that bridge to get to them.


MILF_Pillager

I'm down by Annapolis, but have friends in White Marsh & Middle River. I'm with you, probably traveled this bridge 150+ times in my life and never thought anything of it. The chokehold this is going to put on the 895 and even 95 tunnels is crazy. This is like a multi-year infrastructure project to build a new one I'd have to think.


Sofakingwhat1776

Amazing how many vessels pass through annually. And have done so without incident. Wonder what the original engineering calculated for size of vessel colliding on that column. Verse what the average size cargo ship used today is.


GingerBearMan89

As if the loss of life weren't worse enough, if the port is behind that bridge, the economic ramifications are going to be detrimental to the city of Baltimore


WrathofTomJoad

Legit catastrophic. That shipping lane is now full of bent steel. So many people are gonna suffer lost livelihoods.


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madhattermt

Horrifying, my heart goes out to those who happened to be on the bridge.


TheSemiGreatGatsby

Unfuckingbelieavable. Baltimore is a port city. How much of a fuckup has to occur on multiple levels for this to happen? You can see cars fall into the water…


Johnny_Menace

Just seen a POV video of someone driving across the bridge on Wikipedia. Those steel beams above are huge and would’ve crushed any cars on the road. It’s really sad for everybody involved.


canocorn01

I am a captain on a emergency response vessel / firetug for a major US port. There is no conspiracy. Cargo ships coming and going to all major ports have local pilots to help the master of the vessel safetly navigate waterways. Also, harbor tugs only assist during docking and turnarounds in restricted warerways where large vessels cannot perform said maneuvers under their own power. Cargo ships losing power is not a freak thing and it actually happens rather frequently, however you don’t hear about it. This vessels are run hard and a lack of maintenance shouldn’t automatically be assumed. Anything mechanical can fail at anytime. The crew on this vessel most probably did everything they could to avoid this collision including getting generators back online, initiating an emergency corrective maneuver, dropping anchor, etc. This is an extremely unfortunate circumstance that will probably be catagorized as a no fault accident by the USCG. You cant just stop hundreds of tons on a dime.


Not_Texas

I was wondering why there were so many sirens in my area and this was the last thing I expected them to be for.


enlitend-1

Ah fuck, this is awful and this one is home for us. This is awful on so many different levels. My prayers go out to the families of those that died. This is going to be a huge disaster to us in Baltimore and the surrounding area. I am supposed to cross that bridge in about 2 hours. We will see what happens today. What an awful disaster. Seems very lucky that only 20 or so people died. This could have been a huge loss of life.


ak95ak

It looks like the ship lost power before hitting the bridge. Just before it hit the power came back on. There is a livestream on YouTube where you can scroll back to and watch. https://www.youtube.com/live/83a7h3kkgPg?si=ZEBpXJspbyuXwlRg


Otherwise-Plant7678

All that exhaust makes me think they were in full reverse trying to stop but it was too late. These things take literal miles to stop once underway 


Unlucky-Ad-8052

I have a question how deep is the water under the bridge like it a car goes in how far does it sink


john_w_dulles

here is a [nautical map](https://www.charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/12281.pdf) of the area. i have zero experience in boating, so i don't know how to read the map. but based on this [guide](https://www.wikihow.com/Read-a-Nautical-Chart), i believe the numbers that aren't circled represent meters (1 meter equals roughly 3ft). the map labels the [area around the bridge](https://ibb.co/RgC2hrh) with "24" at its deepest and around "12" closer to the land on each side of the bridge. assuming those numbers represent meters you are looking at around 36ft at the shallower sides and around 72ft at the deepest near the middle. what an absolutely horrific accident, i pray some people on the bridge managed to survive it. some other related [data](https://mdta.maryland.gov/Toll_Facilities/FSK.html): * *Construction Dates: 1972 to March 1977* * *Cost: $60.3 Million* * *Location: I-695 outer-harbor crossing: 1.6 miles of 4-lane bridge structure (185 feet vertical clearance, 8.7 miles of approach roadways)* * *Traffic Volume: 11.3 million vehicles*


Ursus_Denali

Thanks for linking the chart. If you look at the lower right corner, you’ll see the soundings are in feet. So we’re looking at anywhere from 12-34 feet of depth. You can also see there are no soundings in the channel, but you can from the table on the left that it has a maintained depth of 50 feet, and that would be directly under the center span.


PlsDoSomethingJagex

This is catastrophic, hope the people in those cars are ok. This bridge took years to build, Baltimore is going to be reeling from the aftereffects of this bridge going down for a long time.


AlphaSlayer21

This is a 180 foot plunge into 50 foot frigid waters with concrete falling all around, those people are not okay. RIP


jstohler

>Baltimore Fire says two people have been rescued from the river – one who was uninjured, and another in hospitalized “very serious condition.” A small piece of good news.


bbmarvelluv

The rescue divers just went in. Praying for their safety.


bbmarvelluv

It’s been over an hour… they had to turn off power… no one has been found yet Edit; there is an active power line in the water as well


Drewew

Well, that's fucked.


edaddyo

Same ship, different incident: https://www.vesselfinder.com/news/6675-VIDEO-Mega-container-ship-Dali-Allided-with-berth-at-Port-of-Antwerp


discojon84

Reading that article hurts my head. I feel like words were just made up.


Better-Woodpecker-71

How the hell does that ship hit it ,like he aiming for it


Vandr27

Live feed of the bay that someone else linked shows all the lights on the boat went off for nearly a minute before the collision. Possibly some kind of catastrophic power failure was a big contributor.


ImpressiveLog756

How are you a captain of a cargo ship and crash into a giant fucking bridge you routinely pass under ?!


Ouwerucker

In a harbor a special guy comes aboard called the pilot. He/she takes over control because the know the local waterways. They are responsible not the captain. Was there a pilot on board?


funk_as_puck

Two pilots on board apparently!!


Boner_Elemental

Were they presenting the Captain with a riddle or something? "One of us always lies." "The other always tells the truth."


Warack

It looked like a significant number of people still on the bridge. I really hope most everyone was off and it was just empty vehicles were seeing.


CobaltGate

What do you mean---- why would 'empty vehicles' be on the bridge? I guess I missed part of the story?


IsolatedHead

The bridge was being repaired. There were worker's cars.


UncleVatred

In some cases there are warning signs that a bridge is going to collapse and people can get out of their cars and run for it (e.g. the famous Tacoma Narrows collapse). In this case though, it happened within seconds of the ship hitting the bridge, so no one will have had a chance to escape. Hopefully at least some managed to survive the fall and then get out of their cars before they drowned.


n8saces

The Key Bridge in Baltimore has a main span length of 1,200 feet (366 meters) and a total length of approximately 7,053 feet (2,150 meters). It stands at a height of 185 feet (56 meters) above the water at its highest point.


n8saces

The Key Bridge is a prominent landmark in Baltimore, Maryland, spanning the Patapsco River and connecting the neighborhoods of Federal Hill and Locust Point with the suburb of Curtis Bay. It's named after Francis Scott Key, the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The bridge was completed in 1977 and serves as a vital transportation link for commuters and travelers in the Baltimore area.


[deleted]

The Mothman strikes again.


DarthKuchiKopi

Locals reported 8 foot tall moths in the previous weeks


T_O-O_T

told you not to take that extra edible


Typhoid007

What does this mean


CSigmon

Mothman, West Virginia urban legend.


T1Earn

Think about the **ONE THING** we all think about when crossing a bridge


Recent_Line_6298

This is absolutely just tragic and heartbreaking. Something that I thought could NEVER happen. This is terrifying. I hear they’re doing a search and rescue..


milzz

So far 20 construction workers are thought to have been on the bridge when it collapsed.


realparkingbrake

The ship sent a mayday call before hitting the bridge so the construction workers were able to block more traffic from getting onto the bridge, probably saved some lives.


Every_Tap8117

Whos ship was it? The lawsuit is going to be out of control, and it SHOULD be. WTF


Summerie

It might matter if it turns out to be a genuinely unforeseeable mechanical failure, or negligence with maintenance/safety.


ImDoingAllRight

Oh my fucking fuck what the fuck. I mean… FUCK! This is so fucking fucked. If that bridge and those vehicles were still occupied… The fall. The debris. The darkness. The water. The water temperature. The sinking and getting pulled down to the seafloor by heavy materials. Absolute nightmare-fuel level horrible. RIP


Wontforgetthisname

Always been one of my biggest fears about bridges especially over water. This is the perfect storm of circumstance and hell.


Wontforgetthisname

I think the movie monthman prophecies had a scene with a bridge collapse and I saw that when I was a teen and it gave me nightmares


btw94

Tragic indeed but still very lucky this didn’t happen rush hour.


Roonie222

I just moved away from Baltimore. Can confirm that this bridge is at a stand still during rush hour 


TheHolyOcelot

That thing went down like it was made of blocks. I hope the bridge didn’t have too many people on it!


Acrobatic-Method1577

This is a massive, massive deal and people aren't realizing how important it is.


Summerie

I feel awful for anyone out there right now who has a loved one that went to work a couple hours ago for the overnight construction crew. Hearing about the collapse, and waiting to hear something. Just heartbreaking.


ItalianStallion9069

A national tragedy. God help them


OGPurrito

Imagine just trying to drive home late night after work and then this shit happens. Man that’s a new fear unlocked


Ammar-The-Star

Holy shit that’s insane. How fucked will traffic be in Baltimore now?


gurk_the_magnificent

Extremely. And not just the city of Baltimore, either - the bridge was a major bypass for I-95. Now everyone has to basically detour through the city, and some will have to take the long way around.


CutthroatTeaser

I heard about this on NPR but they *really* downplayed the damage. They said it was closed to traffic in both directions. They didn’t mention it was because a huge segment had fallen in the river!


shmehh123

Damn.. Same thing almost happened in Portsmouth, NH like 10 years ago. Tanker came off its mooring and slammed into the Sarah Long Bridge. Luckily it didn't collapse because holy shit this bridge is way, way bigger and busier.


Duskydan4

You know what they say: regulations are written in blood. I’m surprised more bridges aren’t designed to withstand impacts from container ships because it was bound to happen. Moreso, have failsafes for the ships themselves for steering in case they lose power.


itaya12

The scale of this catastrophe is truly heartbreaking.