Early Tuesday morning, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a large steel arch bridge carrying I-695 over the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, collapsed after being struck by the Singapore flagged and Maersk chartered container ship Dali. The collapse was caught on a livestream of the bridge, with video showing the Dali seemingly losing power several times before striking one of the two support arches which supported the main span of the bridge over the Patapsco River, causing the bridge to collapse and dump several vehicles into the river. Reportedly, there was also an MDTA (Maryland Transportation Authority) construction crew on the bridge during the collapse working on repairs for the bridge. Two crew members were rescued and six others were presumed dead after search efforts were called off the next day, while two of the six bodies from the MDTA crew were recovered from the river late Wednesday night.

Photograph of the container ship Dali after striking and causing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse in Baltimore. Parts of the bridge are resting on the deck of the Dali, while other parts collapsed into the Patapsco River. (Al Drago/Getty Images/Taken from Axios)

The collapse has not been ruled as a terrorist attack or an intentional strike, Maryland Governor Wes Moore confirmed at a press conference shortly after the collapse. In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) along with the FBI and other federal agencies have sent several teams to Baltimore to investigate the accident and assist in recovery efforts. Interestingly, despite the confirmation of both State and Federal government officials, notable right wing personalities such as accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate and right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have both endorsed and spread conspiracy theories stating that the ship was “cyber attacked” by foreign powers and that this was a “distraction” for the start of World War 3. There has also been an influx of racism against Indians on Twitter (now known as X) since the crew of the Dali was revealed to be entirely Indian. However, the pilots of the vessel (the individuals responsible for steering the ship) were actually two white Baltimore natives, but this fact has not disuaded racist posts on Twitter (now known as X). 

Rescue Personnel gather on the edge of the Patapsco River on Tuesday morning after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge late the prior night. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPE-EFE/Shutterstock/Taken from CNN)