Baltimore Bridge Collapse
By: Clive and Eric 3/27/24
It's late at night and you're driving over the Francis Scott Key Bridge and you look out the window and a boat is going towards the bridge! That happened on Tuesday at 1:28 a.m. The "Dali" crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Maryland State Police reported a red pickup truck that was found underwater. Inside were two of the trapped victims. 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, from Mexico, and 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, from Guatemala.
Eight construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge when the crash happened. Divers were sent to find the bodies, 2 people were found and the other four were assumed dead. The “Dali” crashed into the bridge and here is why moments before the cargo ship crashed operators issued a mayday call because the 985-foot-long vessel lost power resulting in the ship crashing into the 1.6-mile bridge at 9 mph causing the bridge to break and fall into the water.
While the bridge is large and heavy, experts say that if the bridge had proper protection it would have been able to withstand the force and power of the huge ship. “If a bridge pier without adequate protection is hit by a ship of this size, there is very little that the bridge could do,” Leon says.
US Senator. Chris Van Hollen said the path to rebuilding the bridge will be "long and expensive." Senior White House adviser Tom Perez told reporters Tuesday “it’s too early” to tell how long it will take to rebuild the bridge. The “dolphins” of the bridge are circular structures apart from the main bridge supports in the water that are built to prevent big ships from wrecking into the bridge but the dolphins of this bridge failed because of the boat’s speed and power.
This incident was tragic and we hope this will never happen again, hopefully, they can rebuild the bridge stronger, better, and safer.