Photo: Alamy
Early Tuesday morning, the massive Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed into the frigid harbor after a container ship slammed into one of the bridge’s support beams.
Footage of the incident surfaced on social media after it happened, shocking Americans and drawing questions about the catastrophe. According to the Associated Press, the bridge collapse sent several vehicles falling into the water, and hours later, six construction workers who were onsite at the bridge when it was struck are still missing.
The ship reportedly lost power before it struck the bridge, although it is unclear why. Following the collapse, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) gave statements to the press, sharing that “the preliminary investigation points to an accident – we haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack.”
The ship that collided with the “Key Bridge” reportedly sent out a “mayday” call before it struck the bridge column, which gave local authorities a brief window of time to attempt to stop vehicles from crossing, per The New York Times.
Gov. Moore indicated during his remarks late Tuesday morning that divers were currently in the harbor searching for the six missing people who fell into the water when the bridge initially plunged into the water.
The NYT confirmed that U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was en route to the scene of the presumed accident, as well.
While authorities have stated that the incident in Maryland was an accident, some critics have heavily suggested that it could have been more than that. Ret. General Mike Flynn, for example, posited on X on Tuesday that the incident at the Key Bridge was a “BLACK SWAN event.”
He explained, “Black swans normally come out of the world of finance (not military). The standard operating procedures for all U.S. ports, harbors, and bays that transit commerce and military activities are supposed to maintain an incredible level of discipline, rigor and awareness for these very type events to not occur (ever!), yet here we are.”
Gen. Flynn continued, “There are harbor masters for every single one of these transit points in America that are in charge of assuring the safety of navigation…start there.”
The AP reported that the operation company behind the ship that hit the bridge, Synergy Marine, “have been sued at least four times in the U.S. federal court on allegations of negligence and other claims tied to worker injuries on other ships owned and operated by the Singapore-based companies.”
