Maryland Governor Praises Ship Crew In Bridge Disaster

On Tuesday morning, disaster struck in Baltimore when a massive container ship struck and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge which goes over the Patapsco River.

“A few minutes before the Dali cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, the vessel had a ‘complete blackout’ that knocked out power to the engine and navigation equipment,” an industry official told The New York Times. 

What happened next was shocking. 

NEW AUDIO: Here's the dispatch audio from this morning's collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore.

"They knew the ship was running off course prior to collapse, they started clearing the bridge." pic.twitter.com/C0COn5kWRr

— Mikenzie Frost (@MikenzieFrost) March 26, 2024

But, as Mister Rodgers once pointed out: in times of tragedy, look for the helpers. 

According to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, authorities were able to stop the flow of traffic onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge right before the ship crashed into a support column, causing it to collapse.

The ship’s captain writes ABC News is now being called a hero. 

The container ship Dali issued a mayday call as it approached the 1.6-mile-long bridge at about eight knots, a “very rapid speed,” Moore said. Following that notification, officials were able to prevent more cars from going onto the bridge before the collapse, he said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday. “They saved lives last night.”

After personnel on the ship alerted the Maryland Department of Transportation that they lost control of the vessel, local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck, “which undoubtedly saved lives,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday during remarks on the disaster.

A review of traffic cameras by Maryland transportation officials confirmed there were “no vehicles transiting the bridge at the time of the incident,” according to an internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security briefing obtained by ABC News.

“These people are heroes. They saved lives.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore issued a mayday call, allowing for officials to clear the bridge of as many cars as possible.

More: https://t.co/9he4gd6n7w pic.twitter.com/3SDZTnyKlv

— NewsNation (@NewsNation) March 26, 2024

Clay Diamond, the executive director of the American Pilots Association, told The Times that “he had been speaking regularly with the Association of Maryland Pilots and that the cause of the system failure was unclear. Though the ship’s backup generators had kicked on, restoring some power, the propulsion system remained offline.

As the vessel lost power, Mr. Diamond said, the pilot in command of the vessel ordered that the ship be turned as much as possible to the left and that the port anchor be dropped to try to halt or slow the vessel’s drift toward the bridge. Mr. Diamond said that the pilot’s order protected people on the bridge who could have been affected by a collision.

“As soon as he lost power, he realized what could happen,” Diamond explained. “He immediately asked that the bridge be closed to traffic.”

Six people lost their lives because of the crash, but because of the quick thinking of the ship’s crew, that number was not significantly higher. 

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