Maxar has published images taken by one of its satellites. They demonstrate the consequences of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the port of Baltimore.
Construction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge began in 1972, and it was opened to traffic in 1977. The length of the structure was 2,623 meters. About 11.5 million cars passed through it annually.
Ships have already clashed with the bridge in the past. In particular, a similar incident occurred in 1980. Then there were no significant consequences. The collision that occurred on March 26, 2024, ended much more sadly. The culprit of the tragedy was the 300-meter container ship Dali, sailing under the Singapore flag in Colombo. Judging by the video recordings, shortly before the ship was supposed to get under the bridge, it suddenly deviated from a straight course. Then its side lights went out, and smoke poured out of the funnel. Soon, an uncontrolled container ship crashed into one of the pillars, which led to the collapse of the main span of the bridge.
Fortunately, the ship’s crew managed to send a distress signal, and because of this, traffic on the bridge was blocked before its collapse. This allowed them to reduce the number of victims. In total, six people died as a result of the disaster. All of them were employees of the construction crew repairing the bridge.
The Maxar images clearly demonstrate the collapsed bridge, as well as the container ship stuck in its wreckage. According to preliminary estimates, its restoration will cost about $ 600 million.
You can also read our article about how a fallen Chinese missile destroyed an entire village.
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