Frantic audio from moments before the Baltimore Key Bridge collapsed
BALTIMORE, Md. - A massive cargo ship lost its steering capabilities and rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning. Responders had about 90 seconds to stop traffic before the Baltimore bridge fell.
Just before 1:30 a.m., the ship lost power and could no longer steer. Going at about 8 knots — roughly 9 mph — the ship ran into a pillar on the Francis Scott Key Bridge. It was the middle of the night when a dispatcher’s warning crackled over the radio in an attempt to get out an emergency call.
Key Bridge collapse: A timeline of the tragedy in Baltimore
Early Tuesday morning, a large container ship left port in the Baltimore Harbor, bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. But the vessel never made it out of the harbor and disaster struck minutes after it set sail.
Within seconds, the structure broke down, sending construction workers and several vehicles plunging into the frigid water below. The vessel then caught fire, sending black smoke billowing into the air.
"The whole bridge just fell down," a frantic officer said. "Start, start whoever, everybody ... the whole bridge just collapsed."
Shortly after, a police dispatcher alerted officers to stop all traffic on Interstate 695, according to Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio traffic.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said that was enough to prevent at least some vehicles from being on the bridge as it collapsed.
"We’re thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic, so more cars were not up on the bridge," Moore said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.