On early Tuesday morning, a part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after the Dali, a nearly 1,000-foot-long container ship heading to Sri Lanka, crashed into it.
The collision launched a search-and-rescue operation as it was unclear how many people were in the Patapsco River. Officials say that eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapsed. Two people have been rescued with one of them seriously injured. Authorities are calling it a "developing mass casualty event."
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![The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali after the bridge collapsed in Baltimore, Md.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/314c412/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3596x2397+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2Fkey-bridge-3.26.2024---jay-fleming_04_slide-ffcdb0fa3e3838e0abd7ea226690d06cc6b04a66.jpg)
/ Jay Fleming
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Jay Fleming
![Baltimore mayor Brandon M. Scott at the Maryland Department of Transportation campus near the bridge.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7258c26/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1619x1079+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2F072a9856_slide-7f76dd95bb39fafd5a513321950365da70d94dc8.jpg)
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
![A blocked road that leads to the now collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/84a9fc3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1618x1079+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2F0c2a1842_slide-18cb006fcc3cd02f4a2625a8eb49c260b5eab9e5.jpg)
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
![In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/63dc079/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5574x3716+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2Fgettyimages-2114901154_slide-43fd82634eefc81445f5bf7080d68ac0768c1c67.jpg)
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Getty Images
![Governor Wes Moore speaks at a news conference at the Maryland Department of Transportation campus near the bridge.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/25cd6bf/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1618x1079+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2F0c2a2031_slide-67065338a72b35f414e99dbaa8ad535c2953f95d.jpg)
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
![The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali after the bridge collapsed, Baltimore, Md.<a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/2107843937?adppopup=true"></a>](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fc7e188/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3598x2399+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2Fkey-bridge-3.26.2024---jay-fleming_03_slide-ffc329e425140da979f77cd61ca46815b3eeafcf.jpg)
![People in Orchard Beach looking at the Dali container ship and collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/eadd4bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5083x3389+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2F0c2a3193_slide-dbe3b1b4666c0be430821ec2a38d5e834d73db90.jpg)
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
![Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a news conference at the Maryland Department of Transportation campus near the bridge.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/61d283c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1918x1278+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F26%2F072a0035_slide-a4ed5aece22afdac916cfed9fc79ace55e52ca90.jpg)
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU