All-Indian Crew Aboard Vessel That Collided With Baltimore Bridge Safe, Mayor Calls Them Heroes

All 22-member crew aboard the container ship that crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore were Indians, the vessel management company said, adding that they were all safe and secure. Maryland Governor Wes Moore called the Indian crew “heroes” for their prompt warning before the collision because of which “many lives were saved”.

All crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. There has also been no pollution, the charter manager, Synergy Marine Group said. The registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after a 948-foot container vessel collided with it in the early hours of Tuesday. Multiple vehicles fell into the water following the collision.

According to footage of the accident that surfaced on microblogging site X, the Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali was seen crashing into the bridge that caught fire before sinking leading multiple vehicles to fall into the Patapsco River. The Dali was leaving Baltimore en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

At least six people believed to be part of a construction crew that was repairing potholes on the bridge remain missing, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J Wiedefeld said at a news conference, according to a CNN report.

Two people have been rescued so far with the local authorities fearing that six others are still missing as a search operation is underway.

Quoting police, a Reuters report said among the rescued, one person is said to be unharmed while the other one is critically injured.

Ship Crew Warned of Power Issues Before Collision

Quoting officials, a CNN report said the crew of the container ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge warned of power issues before the collision.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore noted that the warning from the ship’s crew likely saved lives.

Maryland Governor Calls Indian Crew ‘Heroes’

Maryland Governor Wes Moore called the Indian crew “heroes” for their prompt warning so that “authorities were able to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge.” These people are heroes, they saved a lot of lives last might,” he said.

“All lanes closed in both directions for the incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X. According to port data, it is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022.