Follow our live coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
But after the cargo ship Dali lost power early Tuesday, there were precious few minutes to act.
In those minutes, many people — from the ship’s crew, who sent out a mayday signal, to the transportation authority police officers, who stopped traffic heading onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge — did what they could to avert catastrophe, most likely saving many lives.
And the Key Bridge was particularly vulnerable.
As long ago as 1980, engineers had warned that the bridge, because of its design, would never be able to survive a direct hit from a container ship.
Persons:
Francis Scott Key, Dali
Organizations:
Eastern Seaboard
Locations:
Baltimore