Rescue ongoing as cars and people fall into water after ship strike causes Baltimore bridge to collapse
A major bridge has collapsed in the US city of Baltimore after it was hit by a cargo ship.
Footage shows a large section of the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge falling into the Patapsco River, following the collision at around 1.30am local time (5.30am UK time).
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Vehicles can be seen in the video falling from the bridge.
Six people remain unaccounted for after two people were rescued from the water.
One of those rescued was in a “very serious condition” and is receiving treatment in hospital while the other was not injured.
According to officials, the ship had issued a mayday call to authorities that it had lost power before the collision. They later said it had lost propulsion and had dropped its anchors before the crash.
Baltimore bridge latest: Follow live updates
Pic: Reuters
CCTV and marine tracking data shows the ship, known as the Dali, lose power, adjust its course and start smoking around 60 seconds before it hits the bridge.
All Baltimore port traffic has been suspended until further notice, the Maryland Transport Authority, said.
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‘We’ve not seen evidence of a terror attack’
In an update on Tuesday afternoon, Wes Moore, governor of Baltimore, and Paul Wiedefeld, secretary of the Maryland Transport Authority, said those still missing are believed to be construction workers who were on the bridge fixing potholes.
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Daylight aerials show extent of bridge collapse
All 22 crew members on board the ship, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of injuries.
Mr Moore said intel from a preliminary investigation points to an accident. He said there is no evidence of a terrorism-related attack.
“To the victims of this tragedy and their loved ones all of our hearts are broken we feel your loss we are thinking of you,” Mr Moore said.
“We pray for the construction workers who were on the bridge and all who have been touched by this tragedy
We will get through this.”
Pic: Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Team
Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, declared a local state of emergency which will be in place for the next 30 days as the search for the missing continues.
He said earlier that the collapse “looked like something out of an action movie”.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also conducting an investigation into the incident.
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‘It looked like something from an action movie’
More on the bridge collapse:
What do we know about bridge and the ship that hit it?
How did catastrophe happen?
Image shows damage to the ship. Pic: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The 289m-long container ship was headed to Colombo in Sri Lanka at the time of the collision.
It was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk, which said it was “horrified by what has happened”. It said its thoughts were with everyone affected.
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Watch marine traffic after bridge collapse
The same ship was previously involved in a minor incident when it hit a quay at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016, according to Vessel Finder and maritime accident site Shipwrecklog.
The vessel was reportedly damaged in the incident, but there were no injuries or pollution issues reported.
Pic: Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Team
Bridge is ‘major artery’ for locals
The bridge, which is referred to locally as the Key Bridge, was described as a “major artery” for the area by resident Michael Brown.
“This is like an April Fools’ joke right now,” Mr Brown told Sky News’s US partner network NBC.
Local Michael Brown said the bridge collapse feels like an April Fools’ joke. Pic: NBC
“It [the bridge] is a major artery in the area not only for traffic but for the port. Hopefully, everyone is okay that is involved.”
Mr Brown said he uses the bridge to visit family and its destruction is a “major issue” – but he noted the “emphasis should be on getting whoever is in the water out”.
Coast guard vessel secures the perimeter at the scene. Pic: Reuters
The Interstate 695 – the road which runs across the bridge – was closed and traffic rerouted by the Maryland Transport Authority.
Impact on trade
The Port of Baltimore, which oceangoing ships reach by going under the bridge, is the 11th largest in the US, meaning its closure will cause knock-on effects for the industry.
Richard Meade, editor of Lloyd’s List – which provides news on the global maritime industry – said the collision will be a “significant and expensive” operation in terms of diverting marine traffic, the implications on trade and the rebuilding of the bridge itself.
The bridge before the collapse. File pic: Jon Bilous / Alamy
According to data from MarineTraffic, around 40 ships remain inside the closed port, with a further 30 having signalled that the port was their destination.
Built in 1977, the Key Bridge is one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance.
It was named after the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the US, which was penned after a War of 1812 US-UK battle in Baltimore harbour.
David MacKenzie, chair of engineering consultancy, COWIfonden, predicted that rebuilding the bridge will cost 10 times more than the approximate $60m (£47m) spent on building it in the first place.
Tune into a special edition of The World with Yalda Hakim on Sky News tonight at 9pm.
Two skiers have been killed during an avalanche in mountains near Salt Lake City.
The men, aged 23 and 32, were swept up in the avalanche in Utah’s Wasatch Range on Thursday morning.
A third skier was rescued and taken to hospital after digging himself out from the snow, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
The avalanche followed several days of spring snowstorms in the area.
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Craig Gordon, from the Utah Avalanche Center, said around 2.5ft (76cm) of heavy, wet snow had fallen in the area in the past three days during the snow storms, which he said had also brought very strong winds.
“With spring, avalanche conditions can change in an instant,” Mr Gordon said.
He also described the sight of the avalanche, near Lone Peak, as “very serious” and “steep” terrain.
An ambulance at the scene. Pic: Isaac Hale/The Deseret News via AP
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Lone Peak, is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range, towering over Utah’s capital city.
Its steep, rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced back country skiers and experienced climbers.
The sheriff’s office said the families of the two skiers had been notified of their deaths.
The deaths bring this winter’s tally of avalanche deaths in the US to at least 15 – which is less than the average of about 30 people who are killed by avalanches each year.
In January, one person was killed and another person was injured during an avalanche in Lake Tahoe.
Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.
Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump.
Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up over 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.
The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.
The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow renewal held in a field.
Kylie Jenner was among the celebrities congratulating the couple in the comments of Hailey’s social media post.
The couple married in secret in 2018. Pic: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX
US reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, model Gigi Hadid and TV personality Chrissy Teigen also commented with their warm wishes.
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Hailey is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin, while Justin was discovered as a singer online aged 13 and went on to become a pop sensation with his hits including Baby, Love Me and Yummy.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Canadian superstar was forced to cancel the remaining dates of his Justice world tour last year amid his ongoing recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that can cause facial paralysis.
He unexpectedly stepped on stage at Coachella last month to perform the 2020 hit single Essence, alongside Wizkid, during a set by Nigerian star Tems.
President Joe Biden has warned Israel in his toughest public comments so far that the US would stop supplying it with some weapons if Israel invades the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
If Israeli forces launch an all-out assault on the city, the last major Hamas stronghold in the besieged enclave, the US president said “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used”.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden acknowledged US weapons have been used by Israel which have killed civilians in Gaza during its seven-month offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.
Middle East latest: Follow live updates
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IDF launches another Rafah operation
It comes after his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy 2,000lb bombs to Israel over concerns about a looming attack on Rafah, following public and private warnings from his administration.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres,” Mr Biden told CNN.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the weapons delay earlier on Wednesday, saying the US paused “one shipment of high payload munitions”.
“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Mr Austin said.
“But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”
Israel carried out military operations in Rafah earlier this week in what it described as “targeted strikes”.
Read more:
Not much Biden can do to stop his Rafah red line being crossed
Netanyahu’s choice: Accept ceasefire or gamble on Rafah incursion
Sunak to meet university bosses to discuss rise in antisemitism
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Mounting death toll
Nearly 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity, according to Israeli tallies.
Palestinians flee Rafah. Pics: Reuters
US will still supply defensive systems
Mr Biden told CNN the US would continue to provide defensive systems to Israel, including for its Iron Dome defence system.
“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” he said.
“But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”
It comes as Mr Biden’s administration is due to deliver a formal verdict this week, the first of its kind, on whether Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid have violated international and US laws.
A decision against Israel would heap further pressure on Mr Biden to limit the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.
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