Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore, MD (March 26, 2024) - Webcam Footage from the Port

Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse after being struck by a large container ship.
Location: the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD. The bridge is part of Interstate 695 and crosses the Patapsco River.
Date of Incident: March 26, 2024
Approximate Time of Incident: 1:30 am EDT
Info: Webcam Footage from the Port of Baltimore, livestream of incident and current situation available on the Port’s KZbin channel. Uploading captured footage.
Developing story, casualties unknown at this time and cause of the ship contacting the bridge is unknown at this time.
Edit 7:53 am EDT: 2 people have been rescued from the water. At least 7 missing.
Edit 10:55 am EDT: 6 people remain unaccounted for. 8 people total were on the bridge when the incident occurred. The ship sent out a mayday call before colliding with the bridge, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Edit 11:34 pm EDT: As of 7:59 pm EDT, all 6 missing persons that were working on the bridge are presumed dead. Search will continue Wednesday (3/27/2024). The two rescued are well enough to be out of the hospital.
Edit 8:34 pm EDT March 27, 2024: Bodies of 2 of the workers on the bridge have been recovered. 4 people remain missing, presumed dead at this time.
Thoughts and prayers to all.

[@eighthelement]

0:59 ship lights go off 1:58 lights go back online 3:03 lights go off again 3:36 some lights are back online 5:09 crash

[@ilttpvvm]

I noticed that, too.

[@rs__daz]

Defo lost power , tons of smoke out the stacks means they were full reverse probably when power came on

[@marekmarek5954]

he probably had a problem with the engine room... The engines turned off and then on again... As evidenced by the lack of light on the ship. And black smoke probably means that full power was given to the engine room...

[@MausMasher54]

Notice something funny as the ship approaches, it keeps it's bow pointed into the Navigation Span Pier, as if Intentional....Hmmmm....

[@SafariNZ]

@@MausMasher54but it steers away the last few seconds.

[@norsehawk]

Think how lucky you feel to be alive if you were one of the 3 visible vehicles that you could see crossing the bridge moments before the bridge collapsed. I fear for the construction workers and anyone that was crossing the bridge at the time, this is a tragedy, but I'm super thankful that this didn't happen during rush hour when thousands were on the bridge.

[@youtubevanced4900]

Definitely see some cars falling in on the right hand side.

[@edmundleblanc9508]

Appeared as though traffic may have been stopped, it looked like vehicles were stuck or maintenance vehicles on the bridge that went in.

[@Plasmastorm73_n5evv]

News reports are saying there are at least 7 missing and S&R is underway.

[@borntoclimb7116]

Imagine this happening in the middle of the day

[@a..c..2469]

I'm from point pleasant and we had a bridge fall back in the late 60's which killed a lot of people but growing up in the 70's and all you heard was people saying they were the car that was at the beginning of it and I was like there only could have been 4 cars that either just made it or stopped in time but yet I've heard a thousand people say it was their parents or someone they knew, I hope whoever was on this or around it are ok, this was such a odd tragedy

[@DukeofHesse-he7bu]

I was watching those vehicles crossing as the ship approached and found myself saying 'c'mon, keep going, keep going.'

[@asepsukendar280]

Saya Pun Berkata Demikian, Ayo Ayo Terus Jangan Berhenti Cepat Cepat Jalan, Saya Sangat Kuwatir Dengan Pengendara Mobil

[@SHREDTILLDEAD]

Nope.

[@daniilmonami2206]

Я тоже торопила "давай, быстрее проезжай!"

[@juanmanuelmartinayuso5793]

Me paso lo mismo

[@user-dl8ei4qq7p]

Зеленский позвонил байдену и сказал что мы разрушели мост как и обещали)))

[@martym.6274]

I went to Dundalk High School which is about 5 miles from the bridge. The school sat very high on a hill with an unobstructed view of the city and harbor. During my sophomore and junior years I literally could see the progression of the bridge coming together from both shores. It finally opened in March of 1977.

[@ayemiksenoj5254]

WOW!!! That's crazy that it was hit/collapsed in March too!!

[@debramage739]

Just be thankful that it wasn't at 8 am.

[@debramage739]

Sorry no disrespect intended.

[@kn3765]

@@debramage739 Actually, that same thought crossed my mind. It's awful, but truly it could have been so much worse.

[@Rajesh_Singh301]

Had it been 8 a.m., there wouldn't have been a crash because of daylight.

[@izzimichaels2892]

@@Rajesh_Singh301 yes there would have still been a crash. the ship lost power, this wasnt a case of the crew not seeing a bridge

[@Rajesh_Singh301]

@@izzimichaels2892 oh I see.

[@NotEvents]

Thank you so much for uploading this! The videos on the news channels are missing SO much information by skipping the minutes before the crash!

[@pigdroppings]

The minutes before the collapse were very important....as you can see that the traffic was shut off before the ship hit the bridge supports. As stated above....why was there no protection in front of the bridge supports.

[@earlysda]

@@pigdroppings pig, a huge container ship would overwhelm any protection.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

​@@pigdroppingswas it actualy shut off? If so, at least someone was awake...

[@user-ei2lm6us2e]

it looks like sabotage Singapore leased to Maserk

[@psaint9720]

look like à engins problem’s whit the light going off !

[@williamsivell103]

By slowing down the playback speed, and full-screening the video, you can see that, at the moment the bridge falls, there were NO vehicles crossing any of the spans, going by the lack of headlights. The only people on the bridge at that time might have been just the 8-person pothole-patching crew, 6 of whom currently remain missing. A couple of flashing lights could be their truck's position on the bridge. I don't know if pedestrians were crossing then. A reported fire and smoke onboard the ship, followed by power loss, points to engines or generators exploding at worst. My thoughts and prayers to all affected by this accident. 😢🙏

[@striker44]

The cargo ship crew sent an sos that help save lives as they shut down the traffic except for those poor souls working on the bridge.

[@Dark_Harmony]

Two bodies were found.

[@bensims7501]

Maybe you should have prayed for there to not be an accident. Then ask yourself why you need to pray

[@plasticweapon]

@@bensims7501maybe you should shut up.

[@ArneRagnarsson]

@@bensims7501Exact. Who praid that the bridge should colaps?

[@irgski]

Quick notification from the pilot and crew and quick reaction of the bridge personnel saved many people.

[@user-cr6qv1bn2u]

This needs to be said more. The crew did what they could. Stopping and steering a ship isn't as easy as Cars or trains. Even if the ship was a train, they couldn't stop it. They need a considerable distance to Stop.

[@user-uc7km1wb6c]

Согласна!!! Сработали быстро и хорошо! Плохо, что сам мост очень слабый оказался. Очень жаль погибших людей!

[@POLOLOUS3]

I got anxiety watching the headlights of vehicles moments before the ship hit. Crazy. Hope those people got rescued

[@joenwc]

Me too

[@rolex0071]

Same here.

[@havoc6441]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@carvinlambert6899]

The water was said to be 50ft deep there... 1st responders are there diving, several cars with passengers along construction workers are not all accountable.

[@SSMenace49]

Where did you see headlights? There definitely wasn't any big trucks on the bridge in the frame when it collapsed. I also did not see any cars.

[@Bonniehiebler1210]

I live not far from here. I used this bridge almost daily, it's so heartbreaking!!!

[@pm110978]

How old is the bridge?

[@Bonniehiebler1210]

@@pm110978 It was built in 1977

[@Bonniehiebler1210]

@pm110978 Sorry meant to say opened in 77

[@typhoon3356]

What does that bridge connect ? Military bases now cut off? Port cut off affecting trade?

[@BanBanChi]

@@typhoon3356 Part of the highway around Baltimore. It's a main thoroughfare

[@karisbarfield8948]

Thank you for uploading this.

[@Everclearboy1]

Im curious if no horn was sounded? Couldnt they blast that thing to warn people on the bridge?

[@ToxiCom-777]

Many questions just like this are explored on the 55-part series on CONSPIRA site that is of the ORG variety (not com or net)

[@susannemac2800]

I was on a barge that crashed into a bridge pillar in tidal water. The prop was caught in plastic and a rip current pulled us hard into the bridge. I cant get my head round this 1970'a bridge being so fragile and containers ships not being tugged through for safe passage.

[@Heyguysguesswhatthis]

It’s not that the bridge is fragile, it’ not rated for modern collisions I’d imagine. A standard container ship in the 80’s was around 11m MT, today they’re closer to 290m MT. It does feel weird though they wouldn’t have tugs on standby for ships moving through the area to help avoid accidents just like this though

[@david.seholm]

They utilize Pilots for boats entering and exiting that harbor. The bridge is/was a suspension bridge. You take out one of the towers, and there is no more tension on the cables suspending the roadway ... and this happens. I think the bigger question is why did they not have adequate collision barriers for the tonnage of boats transiting?

[@jamesricker3997]

The ship was over 100,000 tons

[@davidbruce3632]

It is a Truss bridge and your one support theory applies. Suspension bridges would not have totally fallen into the deep. Maryland infrastructure is in need of a new boss. @@david.seholm

[@izzimichaels2892]

@@david.seholm cables? i dont think this was a suspension bridge, not that it matters.

[@KDRCG]

Notice the exhaust from the stack, after the first blackout there is a thick cloud coming from the stack, I would assume the engine being thrown into full reverse, there is a second bust of exhaust after power returned after the second blackout, but in the time between then and hitting the bridge the exhaust cloud had mostly disapated, which might indicate that they lost the engine at some time before impact.

[@michellemevans3123]

I noticed that too.

[@JohnP538]

On a large vessel there is a massive lag between engine power and movement. Once it is moving there is a huge amount of inertia. The ship is supposed to be piloted at this point by a Maryland ship pilot. By state law, every ship that enters Maryland waters must have a state-licensed pilot at its helm, steering massive ships from the sea. Someone needs to ask who was at the helm.

[@chuckwadnofski7147]

​@JohnP538 maybe a cam3l jockey?

[@RoaringBas]

@@JohnP538 a helmsman has not much influence on moving the rudder during a black out.

[@donarcher7002]

@@JohnP538 The large amount of black smoke might be an indication it was running on heavy bunker oil, most EPAs require a switch to diesel in port. An indication of possible multiple failures in operating procedures..

[@nelsonbergman7706]

Thanks for posting. Very sad tragedy. Hoping everyone is found safe. I hope that ship has a lot of insurance.

[@rickfessler3987]

thank you for sharing the raw footage

[@QuattroSG]

Good footage, no one else is showing this view or what happened before hand. Seems the ship was in distress of some kind. Important context everyone else is missing.

[@CoolCademMAnimates-fz1ui]

I saw this video on TV earlier today actually.

[@izzimichaels2892]

@@CoolCademMAnimates-fz1ui same here, all of the local and national stations have shown it.

[@someguy5035]

Why is that context important when it has no bearing on what happened? A ship hit the bridge and the bridge collapsed. The end.

[@izzimichaels2892]

@@someguy5035 it matters if it was intentional. im sure it matters for other reasons as well

[@MW-on1ft]

It has been reported the ship lost power before hitting the bridge.

[@ollieottergaming]

I feel so bad for all the people that were driving on the bridge or working on the bridge at the time, hope they are doing all right and wish the best for them if they hopefully make it out, what makes it sadder is that you can see the flashing lights and headlights drop into the water and fade away.

[@ScienceChap]

I was just looking at that. I couldn't see any moving lights on the roadway, but there does appear to be a road crew doing something on the right of the main span. Hard to tell though because of the scale of everything.

[@TopSecretVid]

Na…if you working on the bridge you saw that coming ..and had time to bail!! Or someone no paying attention. I saw no cars driving across the bridge at the time so I bet they stopped traffic

[@zoeherriot]

@@TopSecretVid there are missing people - so there are almost certainly fatalities. Officials are calling this a potential "mass fatality" event.

[@somnuswaltz5586]

​@zoeherriot "mass casualty event" yeah ok just cuz you saw that phrase in another youtube video title 😂😂😂

[@josephkanowitz6875]

​@@ScienceChap ב''ה, who collects the pensions and insurance in this event?

[@60sbaby608]

What I don't get is I keep reading there was a message sent to the road workers to stop more traffic from crossing the bridge but they didn't get a message for the roadworkers to get off the bridge, that doesn't make sense

[@IonicThree]

Yeah, I have been wondering that. If word got to workers to shut the bridge down, why didn't the ones working the bridge flee?

[@ToxiCom-777]

CONSPIRA site of the ORG kind has 55+ part series on this and much more

[@SoloGameplay01]

2 boat accidents so far this year, a month ago a boat collided with the column of a bridge here in Argentina, but in our case the bridge did not suffer major damage

[@davem145mxr]

Unlike the Sunshine Skyway accident I don't think they can blame the weather on this one

[@justaskin8523]

Yeah, that was a bad one. The Sunshine Skyway bridge (the current one) is so tall (to let tall and wide ships make passage), it's kind of terrifying to drive over it. And if it's a foggy morning, you might not see the top when you start...and you might not see the bottom once you crest the top and start heading down.

[@davem145mxr]

yes I've traveled out it many times @@justaskin8523

[@KiRiTO72987]

Given what we can see in the video and what other naval analysts have said it looks like there was some kind of major electrical or mechanical failure on board the ship hopefully they figure out what happened and make sure it never happens again

[@simon13031]

Imagine being THAT guy. The captain... 😦

[@Robusphere]

Did the bridge have fenders?

[@jar8459]

thanks for the upload the news did not show the ship loosing power twice.

[@stevethomas-cc5lz]

the news channels arent going to show you all of that.

[@Ass_Burgers_Syndrome]

Of course not, they want to push a certain narrative. Full context does not fit their narrative. They have to keep us misinformed.

[@cameraredeye3115]

​@@stevethomas-cc5lzNope. They gotta have their spin on things.

[@KiRiTO72987]

Of course they didn't mystery sells

[@tonyansill3093]

I have crossed this bridge several times over the years as a truck driver. Whenever I did I always had an eerie feeling about that bridge and now I know why.

[@johnbonamigo5696]

Wow Mr Hindsight over here

[@jesseapplegarth6849]

Me too though. This bridge in particular always scared me.

[@user-yx1gk6fu5y]

Must have been the Holy Spirit saying something

[@EpicWarrior131]

​@@user-yx1gk6fu5ynah. Peope are just nervous around bridges

[@LynneAnn51]

Prayers for all involved 😢😢🙏🙏

[@robertshrewsbury5067]

I'm watching the traffic, hoping no one will be hurt. Agree that the ship on the left lost its lights. I am glad construction repairs were going on but so sorry for the workers that had no chance. That collapse was instantaneous. A huge loss to the area.

[@cosmicstuff44]

Wow... unreal! Couldn't pick out any vehicle lights moving across it at time of collapse, hoping anyone who was on it will be found and survive!

[@striker44]

The ship crew sent out an sos that saved lives - traffic got stopped just before collision.

[@cosmicstuff44]

@@striker44 indeed, very fortunate... and now it has also been revealed the ship did have a power loss issue.

[@jesseapplegarth6849]

Unfortunately, there were workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, and they were killed. They had no radio for anyone to communicate to them that they were in danger and needed to get off the bridge 😢

[@cosmicstuff44]

@@jesseapplegarth6849 yes, unfortunate indeed. It is an odd occurrence, but hopefully now something will be done about this possible issue. Perhaps a siren that officials can sound telling everyone there's a danger and to get off the bridge or something like that.

[@melaniehadsell5158]

My heart 💚 goes out to all of the people involved in this tragedy especially to all of the Coasties involved in the search...May God Bless you all 🙏

[@jesseapplegarth6849]

I'm so incredibly sad for the workers who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse and killed 😢

[@adelinehillock1553]

I’m so sorry for all the people who were on the bridge. There are no words. May you rest in peace.

[@region0706]

are they dead ?

[@mikek0135]

I hope you're wrong. Being on the bridge doesn't mean they're dead.

[@motolover5697]

@kaybeetoyz look closer, there were cars waiting on the bridge.

[@ahalfsesameseedbun7472]

​@@motolover5697Construction vehicles.

[@theskicker8856]

⁠​⁠@kaybeetoyz I heard they had law enforcement stop bridge traffic shortly before the crash. 6-8 road repair guys were on the bridge and are missing and have been presumed as dead. 3 cars, a cement truck, and another vehicle are also labeled as missing. Sonar is being used to try to find said vehicles. That’s all the info I have.

[@reannejarvis9464]

Jeezus condolences from Tasmania, where we also had a cargo ship ram our bridge in Hobart. Thoughts and prayers to all affected

[@annpeerkat2020]

from comments here, clearly that event in hobart was a previous incarnation of 9/11. Was the casualty list massive? ahem

[@reannejarvis9464]

@@annpeerkat2020 12 people killed including 7 from the Lake Illawarra the boat that hit the pylon. Several years to fix and update the bridge. Social impact was high. Another river crossing was started further upriver by army engineers, a punt at first then a temporary bridge, then a permanent bridge. Ferries were brought back to cross the Derwent at Hobart to connect the two cities. It was a huge upheaval. It’s going to be tough. Your water is much wider, and our politicians worked together, good luck with that

[@reannejarvis9464]

@@annpeerkat2020 I don’t know where the 9/11 is relevant

[@robertdriscoll9414]

@@reannejarvis9464 My father worked on the Tasman Bridge a bit, and told me it was designed to partially collapse when hit by a boat (rather than the whole bridge fail like a stack of dominoes). The Lake Illawarra captain was unfortunate to be drifting sideways when he hit, taking out two piers and so dropping three bridge sections, but the design still saved most of the bridge. Not so here obviously.

[@thelastperfectman4139]

Looking at this in real time, a couple observations (albeit I am no expert on any of these issues): 1.) even though ship is massive and incredibly heavy, it still seems that at the very slow pace it was going that a well designed and maintained bridge shouldn’t have so easily collapsed, and 2.) with the time it took before the collision, couldn’t authorities have got the bridge cleared and closed off in anticipation of the worst case scenario? Seems like there should have been time IF ship’s crew had alerted harbour authorities of their situation and harbour authorities immediately alerted police etc.

[@JulesUS8386]

As soon as she went “dead in the water” with the forward speed and weight it was only a matter of seconds before she hit the pylon even if power came on last minute which did happen. It’s amazing that first responders stopped bridge traffic and helped any people out of cars and off the bridge. They saved a lot of lives, and are true hero’s. Thoughts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy.

[@drinksafewater]

There is a lot of black smoke indicating a serious problem from this ship - There would have been a pilot on board as well. Truly horrific and thoughts for all those touched by this disaster.

[@annpeerkat2020]

nodsnods... a serious problem... such as the ship being put in emergency astern power.

[@david.seholm]

@@annpeerkat2020 No container ship can go into full astern in that time period. I dont know anything about how this boat was designed, but I am 99% confident the loss of power (and the black smoke) was in some way effected or caused by a loss of hydraulics taking out the rudder controls. I think it is likely the same hydraulic loop(s) would have been connected to the transmission and prop shaft brake if it even had one.

[@stevelarkin5987]

No there wouldn’t have been a pilot on board

[@justaskin8523]

That ship would have had a captain, yes? If so, he's going to have to answer for this. Doesn't matter if it was "gremlins in the engine room" or whatever. The captain is at fault. I don't know his country of origin, but he probably lost honor too. I sure wouldn't want to be him or a member of his family.

[@drinksafewater]

There were actually 2 pilots aboard . (Maritime Law for ships in confined areas e.g. Ports) @@stevelarkin5987

[@ShortOrderCook]

My thoughts are prayers are with you Baltimore. This is such a shock. I hope for any rescues, and safe recoveries of people - and my heart goes out to all those effected. Strength and courage to your rescue teams as they face this tragedy. Sending love from Australia.

[@SunLightFawn]

One of the resident's, who lives right near there, said he felt and heard what he first thought was a huge thunder storm then, it felt like an earthquake, and he jumped out of bed, and looked outside, and saw the carnage! It happened around 1:00am eastern standard time USA.

[@user-tn8hx5lg1z]

Опять Россия виновата и Путин?

[@1972Ray]

@@user-tn8hx5lg1z Not very likely.

[@tarico4436]

See? Now this is not a bad time for thoughts and prayers. This is a problem that can and will be improved upon; engineers will do some thoughts, and fixums will happen. But those other times when all we do is "thoughts and prayers" and never even get an inch closer to fixing problem, well, that's when saying, "Thoughts and prayers" is a bad joke.

[@davidmcgarigle9697]

Amazing there were so few cars on the bridge, moments before cars and trucks were crossing. Prayers for those on the bridge!

[@flyingfortressrc1794]

OMG prayers for all involved

[@BigBoxDodge2020]

I thought big ships like that had to have tugs escorting it and also have inland waterway Captains on board, so what the hell went wrong there?

[@annpeerkat2020]

Pilot on board....yes. Tugs "escorting"....no. Not even pontius pilate could have turned or stopped a 90,000 ton ship with equipment failure in a very short timespan.

[@dennisheaverlo228]

Maybe you should ask Pete Buttgiggler, they cut the budget

[@lazylion420]

Buttgiggler eh? yeah you're definitely not biased or homophobic. I'll listen to your opinion 🙄

[@Hernal03]

@@annpeerkat2020 No, he would have just washed his hands of the whole thing.

[@bunkerrocketworks3190]

Its 11:30 here in New Zealand - OMG the bridge just entirely collapsed after that one impact ! I was not expecting such a rapid cascade of events. Hopes for zero or minimum casualties - the people on the ship's bridge must also be devastated at the horrible events caused by their mechanical issues. God bless the victims and thoughts and prayers to their families.

[@dallasfrost1996]

Such an unfortunate situation for those involved. To all those that were unlucky, they all may rest in peace. From New Zealand as well.

[@stringalongmike1953]

Thanks NZ.

[@Lily.Rebecca.]

I’m in New Zealand also…horrific how fast the entire bridge collapsed. Prayers to the families that lost their loved ones.

[@jamesseaman2950]

I live just south of there. The missing construction workers are now presumed drowned.

[@tarico4436]

See? Now this is not a bad time for thoughts and prayers. This is a problem that can and will be improved upon; engineers will do some thoughts, and fixums will happen. But those other times when all we do is "thoughts and prayers" and never even get an inch closer to fixing problem, well, that's when saying, "Thoughts and prayers" is a bad joke.

[@tobarstep]

Imagine the sheer panic on the bridge of the ship as the power went out and they started drifting off course. The helplessness they must have felt. Ugh. There's nobody in all of this that won't be haunted for the rest of their lives.

[@Nigelsmom2136]

Absolutely horrible. Those poor people, I can't even imagine the shock and terror they must have felt.

[@hiroshimablast1945]

Thoughts and prayers be with those involved in this terrible accident

[@allenstark3530]

I thought we only used thoughts and prayers to make mass shootings in school ok.

[@oztez9222]

Power failure. Light out well before the bridge strike. Good argument for the use of tugs in river ways.😮

[@duanenavarre7234]

When I was in the US Navy in the 1980's a "pilot" came aboard during any transit with danger possibilities, High danger like that always got a tug as well, if very big like carriers in norfolk multiple tugs.

[@someoneout-there2165]

Unless it was actually a terrorist attack and they were just trying to make it appear to be electrical problem. I'm hiding.

[@turokforever007]

@@duanenavarre7234Yes, they always use a local pilot going in and out

[@turbo-bigpapa]

I dunno why there was no tug on the ship. Flashing lights indicate a failure of the electrical system. Maybe the reason why the boat rammed into the bridge. Has to be some kind of malfunction to send a ship crashing like this.

[@anonydun82fgoog35]

Funny how he was completely aimed at the pylon and even corrected himself a few times before the "power failure" though

[@artysanmobile]

I have crossed this bridge many times. It is an enormous bridge, and the speed with which it comes down fully is unimaginable.

[@ToxiCom-777]

Because the collapse was assisted. Exploring this is CONSPIRA site of the ORG variety

[@The2ndFirst]

I drove that bridge SO many times in the 90s....dude. Just no words.

[@RamZar50]

The ship seems to have lost power twice and drifted towards the pylon. Accident, incompetence or sabotage.

[@angelmessenger8240]

With the world the way it is and the clear increase in 'accidents' usually rail, it strikes me that sabotage is a strong contender. How easy it it to mess with a ship's power and guidance these days.

[@nicktallfox5266]

With the world the way it is I'd suspect a severe lack of maintenance to be the cause. Multiple systems failing because corporate profits are more important than safety. And I wouldn't be surprised if incompetence played it's part too.

[@MrDLRu]

The ship didn't lose power, it was pouring on the coal to turn into the bridge support...Watch when the smoke rises.

[@diamondcreepah3210]

Incompetence is usually the answer. People sometimes simply forget their basic tasks due to distractions, cluelessness or overconfidence.

[@happycustomer5934]

Not an expert..... I seen a lot of heavy exhaust coming out of that stack. My guess is full steam ahead.

[@antonrudenham3259]

At 1:58 the ships lights come on indicating that the ships bridge team were aware of a problem, these lights are normally extinguished at night leaving only the nav lights burning. Immediately after that the ship enters a sharp turn to starboard. 12 seconds late at 2:10 a dense plume of back smoke from the funnel begins, this indicates that the engines have been suddenly ordered to undergo great strain, probably thrown from a mild slow ahead to a brutal emergency astern and skipping the detentes in between. At 3:05 the lights are extinguished leaving only what appears to be emergency lights burning, this could indicate the ships shaft alternator 'tripping off the board' which raises some questions in and of itself. At 5:11 the vessels starboard foot strikes the bridge support pontoon followed by the vessels overhanging starboard fo'csle gunwhale striking the innermost bridge support column causing it to distort and the bridge collapse is complete 15 seconds later at 5:34. My initial guess is that steering gear failure occurred at the point where the pilot orders a gentle turn to starboard to pass safely under the bridge but instead of coming a few points around as ordered the steering gear applied hard a starboard and stayed there, the ships bridge team instantly recognised the problem and went full astern but there was no time to arrest the vessels momentum. This is an awful tragedy and my thoughts go out to anybody caught up in it.

[@annpeerkat2020]

excellent theory (though I'm scratching my head about "the vessel's starboard foot")

[@chardvaark1]

Your answer makes a lot of sense. Thank you. We will know more when all the personnel on the bridge of the ship plus the engine room explain what may have happened. With a qualified pilot onboard, that ship should have sailed a straight and steady course under the bridge. Thank God this didn't happen during rush hour!

[@carvinlambert6899]

Aye!, if it was at 8am.... terrible loss of many more would've happened. God be with all here.

[@wolfmlp]

Did purposely skip where the lights went off at 0:59, indicating the ship lost power?

[@acdii]

If the ship uses bow thrusters for slow speed steering, they run on electricity, so if power fails, they also fail. It's possible that they were not synchronized after the power went out and came back on which could have forced the bow into the supports.

[@paulszafransky444]

It's amazing that no engineer, since the bridge was built, ever looked at the bridge and how vulnerable it was to collisions. Made any recommendations for making it less vulnerable to, exactly this.

[@AntiJewluminatiDwarf]

Det charges, suppress your knee jerk reaction to mock or whatever else and simply slow the video down as much as you can, the explosions are unmistakable. Your initial thought is spot on, the bridge ISNT that fragile

[@b-dalebarksdale348]

😮 This is horrible I remember visiting Baltimore MD and riding across that bridge on the freeway, 😢 💔 I really hope they find the 6 missing People safetly and there alright!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@Quasihamster]

Did someone see what was about to happen and raised an alarm? Looks like traffic on the bridge ceased about a minute before the collapse. The last moving vehicles I noted crossed at about 4:30.

[@tinawolf380]

It says the ship called mayday

[@ElizabethCherryBlossom]

Ship called mayday and police closed the bridge but the construction crew was busy and didn't know they had to evacuate or they tried to pack up fast.

[@libbypeace68]

Wow, that was insane! While watching the footage beforehand, I couldn't help but think it was a lovely looking bridge.

[@LukeDodge916]

We've had this humpback bridge in our town's backyard all my life. Its truly heartbreaking. Im grateful it was during rush hour as hard as that is to say...

[@infernalmachine8417]

The poles of power lines that run parallel to the bridge have large barriers that prevent ships from hitting them but the bridge supports don’t. How does that make sense?

[@warrenpeas]

after 911 how could any brdge in the USA not have protection for the support pilars?

[@enderwiggen3638]

So the second time power is restored the ship makes a hard right turn and crashes into the bridge support. That’s really odd. The black box will indicate if the wheel was turned to do that or if it was some software glitch that made the rudder go hard over.

[@RuthannH]

Horrific!

[@mewinthedark2351]

Didn't expect to wake up to this this morning

[@counseloridealist]

The most tragic is the loss of life that occurred. My heart is for the families of those who lost their lives.

[@fishingwithhouse]

My heart goes out to the victims of this accident and their families . You will all be in my prayers.

[@borntoclimb7116]

This is incredible, such a giantic bridge collapse so fast

[@pomik111]

The vessel was giantic too

[@bignuts850]

The bridge made Of tooth picks

[@borntoclimb7116]

​@@pomik111 yes

[@borntoclimb7116]

​@@bignuts850 giantic steelbeams are toothbricks

[@xaraxen]

Extremely painful to watch a tragedy unfold slowly.

[@mwmw8132]

you can watch it slower by changing the settings to a slower speed

[@user-nd4nd7yd3j]

like a liar that keeps lying about a legit election🤡

[@montanamtngirl]

Holy crap!! This shows how fragile this bridge really is!! Thank god It wasn't during morning rush hour.. Praying for everyone that's missing and their families.🙏❤️🙏

[@opalanuitchoutte3038]

It's not that the bridge was fragile, no one planned for an Eiffel Tower size ship when it was made.

[@AntiJewluminatiDwarf]

not fragile, det charges near each pillar, not joking or trolling, slow the video down as much as you can and you can't miss it. If you still don't see them play it on a bigger screen, they're there

[@shrevgirl105]

Wow. My prayers for everyone who lost their lives in this horrific accident.

[@StevenCombs-dy1pt]

Someone gonna be in a lot of trouble

[@storrmo]

Prayers to the people who were on that bridge and the family's

[@KillKenny09]

yes, cause prayers allways help....

[@SilentKnight43]

@@KillKenny09 Wait till the investigation reveals it was actually god that pushed the ship into the bridge...just for $hits and giggles.

[@Laakona]

The bridge didn't "collapse". It was knocked down by a 900 foot, 65K ton container ship.

[@lostfool]

So it collapsed

[@Eidako]

The car didn't "crumple like a tin can." It was rapidly compressed by the combined force vectors of the 180 ton locomotive striking it at 80 km/h laterally of its direction of travel.

[@Laakona]

?@@Eidako

[@midnight_x_edits]

Uh huh many ships have hit bridges before especially cargo ships and they didnt fall tf down was this one somehow made of paper?

[@charlesdempewolf6861]

At the exact time of the collision, I couldn't detect any moving vehicles lights on the bridge. Only the construction crew in the middle...

[@pigdroppings]

It appears that the only people on the bridge at the time of collapse were the construction workers. No moving car or truck lights before the collapse. The construction workers would have had heavy coats, heavy boots and possible a heavy tool belt on. If they went into the water, they would have gone straight to the bottom...unfortunately.

[@dzonikg]

Why would they work at 1 am

[@F40PH-2CAT]

There were several cars on the bridge at the time.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

​@@dzonikgless traffic.

[@h.a.9880]

@@dzonikgCause it's their job, Einstein. In order to obstruct traffic as little as possible, a lot of such work is done during nighttime.

[@h.a.9880]

If they even survived the fall, this bridge was really high. Damn, I am so sorry for these people. There's two cars leaving the bridge about 40 seconds before it collapses. Just think about how much of a close call that was.

[@trevorbrown4217]

That is so crazy. Hoping for all the people.

[@AshMorton]

Something fishy with the whole situation. Not sure what, but a ship that size suddenly losing power, and then being moved by current resulting in a direct hit seems like too much to be a coincidence

[@craigdowney6438]

reminds me of august 1 2007 Minneapolis. I was on the 35W bridge only about 35 minutes before it fell into the river!

[@willl3712]

Looks like the ship turns towards the bridge pillar instead of away from the pillar in this video angle, or is my eyes playing tricks on me?

[@crystalfaulkner1777]

This has been one of my fears.. i absolutely hate having to cross any bridge at any time. Im so sorry! 😢 wow

[@libertyforall5764]

Same here. It’s DAMN scary to imagine this happening during the daytime as I cross a bridge. Now imagine at night? Damn!!! This REALLY has always been one of my greatest fears. I even feel like this when crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and I cross a bridge only twice every 2-3 yrs.

[@schrodingersat9501]

Bridges are usually protected from such collisions. This is actually a simple thing to do. It is surprising, that US authorities did not bother about this.

[@annpeerkat2020]

@@schrodingersat9501 Protect the bridge with something like the get smart cone of silence.... or do you have a different solution to negate the inertia of a 95,000 ton ship travelling at say...10 knots?

[@USCFlash]

"This has been one of my fears..." The likelihood of this actually happening to you is so minute as to be ridiculous....there are much more terrifying things to worry about.....like Super AIDS.

[@user-ko2qh4to6s]

I think because of shop bridge collapse

[@zoraidamorales6533]

Oh my God ! That’s horrible.

[@normstaley9799]

select TRACK right under the picture of the ship you will see it turned towards the support before the fake power outage

[@spursfandan6081]

Quality navigation from this ship captain, just amazing how he misses that gigantic gap in the bridge. 👏🏼

[@david.seholm]

It appears the boat did not have power and thus no steering. Also was not the captain, it was a Pilot for the harbor.

[@NativeVirgo]

I don't know much about boats driving into bridges but TO ME, it looked as if the boat lined itself up first.

[@lizzybennett4436]

Bingo

[@annpeerkat2020]

I agree with the first bit of your comment.... but not about the ship with the stuck rudder.

[@ecelectic_empire2986]

It depends on the current, the channel, the point to where you are headed, knots traveling at .etc etc etc so it can appear that a ship is headed straight for something. Grew up on the Great lakes / St Clair River. And a USCG vet. Had a grandfather that was a wheelsman on the great lakes freighters and a great uncle who also sailed on freighters. Seen a few run aground ...

[@sirbobbyuk]

Just looked at a live feed and it seems the port side (left) anchor had been deployed which answers the question that the ship is shown turning to port before crashing into the bridge

[@xx_Joker_xx]

Holy shit! OMG! There was traffic on that bridge! Prayers!

[@KillKenny09]

your god didn´t do shit

[@ropeyzkittlez9703]

looks like mainly work vehicles i dont see any other cars after the main trailer and car behind it

[@xx_Joker_xx]

@@ropeyzkittlez9703 yeah, I see that also. But minutes before, there were several vehicles on the bridge.

[@justaskin8523]

"Prayers!" - I hope you did pray to God. That is the place that prayers should be directed. A lot of people like to say "prayers to the injured" or "prayers to the family". Sorry, but praying to people isn't the thing to do; mostly because it isn't effective. If you choose to pray, then pray to God. He is always listening.

[@nebtheweb8885]

There was no traffic on that bridge. The vehicles were stopped from crossing after a MAYDAY was recieved from the ship warning the ship lost power. The vehicles in the water are from the crew that was working on the bridge at the center right hand side of the video. The last vehicle seen crossing can be seen at about 4 minutes into the video. They got across just in time.

[@Maddog3060]

Well, this is a giant cluster-F.

[@ToastedHashbrown]

Anyone else notice what looks like small explosions or bits of fire at certain points of the metal just as it begins to come apart? What is that?

[@WarmDikNCider]

that's just crazy. imagine being in your passenger car and all of a sudden you're looking straight down into the depths of that cold black water.

[@hardware199]

There must have been something wrong with the ship. At 3:02 the lights go off.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Yes, looks like power failure at a crucial moment just as it was making the turn. You can see they throw the engines into emergency astern, but with no steering and seconds before things go very wrong there was probably nothing anyone could do

[@matthewmosier8439]

@@AndreiTupolev You can't get to where they got by losing power for a few seconds. And where were the tugs assigned to direct ships safely past obstacles? I live in a port city and watch these kind of ships pass, regularly. You can't just lose control and go crazy at the speeds they travel, and especially in port

[@Ddotkay]

@@matthewmosier8439If you were to speculate, what do you think happened, I wont hold you to it as it is mere speculation but would be interesting to get someones take who watches these ships pass regulary. Thanks.

[@RwP223]

@@AndreiTupolev So when they got power back, they turned into the damn bridge

[@dionkraft6782]

@@RwP223 they say they dropped anchor which skewed the ship to the right and toward the bridge pylon strucure

[@MoosesValley]

Incredible footage and terrifying as well for all people on the bridge - nowhere was safe. Incredible that the entire bridge collapsed - not a single section survived. Multiple vehicles appear to have gone into the water. Hope everyone is OK ... but how on earth do you survive if your car falls with the bridge and then goes underwater ??

[@MrShipBuff]

Bro this is insane, first time I’ve seen something like this happen.

[@celianicoll7060]

At around 5.42 it's fascinating to see the camera lose focus for a second. The shock wave from the collapse hitting. Goes to show the sheer force!

[@user-wy1rl8zy4l]

Seems more like presumtion rather than accidental.

[@patbrennan6572]

The bridge seemed clear of traffic just seconds before impact , someone knew what was happening and stopped the flow. Can you imagine if this happened during the rush hours traffic.?

[@kmm64]

Appears all the lights onboard the ship went out for a while on the approach to the bridge only to come back on a short while before the impact. The ship appeared to change direction (towards the bridge) shortly after the lights were restored. Was all power lost briefly? Massive electrical failure?

[@MichaelVanata]

I really do hope that everyone on the are ok, I pray they are.

[@Raven187FPV]

It's going to be hard to get over this ngl

[@urmo345]

looks like ship lost the power (and steering). Where was auxiliary power system?

[@RoaringBas]

The vessel clearly suffers from a black out. Emergency generators first come on line after about 30 seconds. This doesn't mean that after that time propulsion is restored.

[@danielduncan6806]

Hahahaha! You live in fantasy land.

[@RoaringBas]

@@karelvandervelden8819 clearly before the collision.

[@urmo345]

@@karelvandervelden8819are you blind?

[@sandygreen3035]

Unbelievable!! The bridge just collapsed as if it was made from paper! Condolences and best wishes to all concerned 🙏💙

[@sthannah78ify]

Crazy. That folded like a bedsheet smh

[@der.kdf.brother]

Strange how it looks the ship is steering straight towards the support.

[@warringtonminge4167]

... or drifting unpowered out of control?

[@JackyDOS]

I´m glad that it seems that there was not much traffic on the bridge when it collapsed. 5:17 is the moment of the impact and it seems there is no car passing. Seems there are 3-4 cars standing on the bridge (well can be something else, but worst case is that that are 3-4 cars). It´s tragic for everyone who was on the bridge and is affected from the collapse - but it is a good thing it happened in the middle on the night, and not when everyone is driving to or home from work. Thank you for uploading - I think it will be important for the investigation and maybe for rescue/recover-efforts as the footage shows everything with a good picture.

[@annpeerkat2020]

A tragedy for the unfortunates on the bridge..... but the death toll is probably equalled by 30 seconds of the US's road fatalities.

[@ElizabethCherryBlossom]

The 3-4 cars left were the construction crew working on repairing the potholes. They got all the other cars off the bridge that weren't for construction when the ship declared mayday due to loss of control.

[@JackyDOS]

@@ElizabethCherryBlossomyeah and I thank god that it was in the "middle of the night". my prayers to the 6 missing victims who are now believed to be dead - I hope they will find them fast, can´t imagine how the families feels. It is crazy - going to the job to pay a life and then in a moment you are gone because a bridge collapsed cO.

[@1972Ray]

This road is pretty quite outside of rush hour. Thankfully.

[@mecdsj626]

Did anyone notice the bridge moving a bit in the first few minutes of the video while the ship was on the far left of the screen? My condolences to the family members of the construction workers on the bridge.

[@jessicabower2539]

How on earth do you miss the channel and hit the support???

[@annpeerkat2020]

machinery malfunction

[@jessicabower2539]

@annpeerkat2020 I don't know, I watched it on fast motion and the rear end of the ship kicked right around and lined up on the support....if it had no power, how did the rear end help it line up?

[@annpeerkat2020]

@@jessicabower2539 ummmm... ships have their steering wheel at the rear....it's called a rudder. If a rudder jams, things go pear shaped. hence the thick black funnel smoke as they bang it into emergency astern, in a hopeless attempt to stop 95,000 tons moving at probably 10 knots.

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

Doesn't look like any vehicles were driving over the bridge at the time of impact, but the workers to the right went down .

[@cybershot123]

Yes there was traffic on bridge . What about the maintenance people working on the bridge.

[@anshadedavana]

I also looked the footage several times and couldn't see any moving light at the time of crash.

[@BushmanCanuck]

Apparently ship put out mayday and authorities shut the bridge down to traffic.

[@gijim1968]

No vehicles were moving, but if you look almost middle, there are orange flashing lights,, as we as a few others,, indicating there could have some sort of maintenance crew on the bridge

[@robfish2303]

What I would like to know, is why there wasn't a protective barrier around those pillers that hold the bridge up? Something like riprap, or a reinforced concrete wall around the pillars.

[@jamesseaman2950]

We can see the power went out at least twice while on camera which means they lost steering as well as propulsion. The black smoke means the captain likely ordered full speed astern when the power was restored and the ship reportedly dropped its anchors which only dragged on the bottom until impact. The lack of steering and inertia of a ship that large means there wasn't really much else they could do. A large ship can take several miles to come to a complete stop.

[@thomasstambaugh5181]

Finally a comment that makes sense.

[@arizonapicker1836]

😂

[@rochford59]

My God..this is terrible,cars and people on the Bridge...

[@rifkitegar1330]

Pray for they all 🙏🏻

[@CoolCademMAnimates-fz1ui]

Oh my god I was just at that bridge in July- I thought that would have been too large of a bridge to just suddenly fall like that! It’s been a few hours since I found out, but I am still a bit shaken by the thought of it. I hope everyone made it out OK!