Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse

I’m watching the coverage now, the entire span collapsed! I pray they are able to rescue the people in the water, and thankful this did not happen during rush hour.
 
OMG, what a catastrophe! Hope everyones friends and family are safe.
 
Quite the disaster, but where the hell were the Pilot and Captain and wtf were they doing that they could not avoid hitting a dirty great bridge?

Is that area tidal with strong cross currents?

I also question why there was zero effort made to protect the the bridge with large "feet" around the supports to minimise such a direct hit on the supports.
 
GrifterGuru said:
I also question why there was zero effort made to protect the the bridge with large "feet" around the supports to minimise such a direct hit on the supports.
Click to expand...
Circa 1977 when the bridge was built, no one thought there would be a need to protect from blind pilots or equipment malfunction. They figured that pilots would see the supports and avoid them and that the likelihood of of ship malfunction was minimal. Sadly, they didn't account for a ship losing control at the approach to the bridge. Hope there will be some improvements in the replacement structure.

From the AP:
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.

Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel, which was carrying its customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were on board. The collapse caused Maersk share at the Nasdaq Copenhagen to plummet 2% in early Tuesday trading.
 
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The ship lost power before hitting the bridge . Looking at the footage , only a few cars / trucks were on it when it went down . They also had construction workers laying down new concrete . If this would have occurred at 3-4 in the afternoon this would have been a MAJOR tragedy . W R Grace and the BGE plant workers would be crossing it at shift change . The question now . Will they open the tunnels up to hazardous substances ? This would really create a somewhat dangerous situation . I've only been across the bridge maybe 10 times in my life . It was a cut thru to Unilever and GM via Buorning Highway .

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=339345372446167
 
that's tragic. I don't understand why Maersk would be responsible, they only HIRED the ship to carry their cargo, it's still the owners crew.. But that's how things work in our legal system.
 
News from Greg . The pilot was experienced and notified they had no power . Traffic was stopped on the bridge before collapsing .
 
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