The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed on Tuesday after a container ship rammed into a support column earlier in the morning. The fire department's communications director, Kevin Cartwright, described the collapse as "a mass casualty event." Maryland Gov. Wes Moore confirmed that the ship issued a "mayday" after losing power, which allowed authorities to prevent further casualties. "We're thankful that between the 'mayday' and collapse that-that we had officials who were able to-to begin the stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not up on the bridge," Moore said.
Regardless of the warning, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld confirmed that eight people were on the Key Bridge at the time of its collapse. He says his department is currently looking into alternative transit options for the 35,000 people who traverse the bridge daily.
Cargo Ship Smashes Into Francis Scott Key Bridge
In response to the incident, plenty of celebrities, politicians, and residents have reacted to the collapse on social media. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wrote on Twitter: "For the people and their families that was apart of the collapsing Bridge in Baltimore my heart, thoughts and prayers are with you all…" David Simon, who created the HBO show, The Wire, wrote: "Thinking first of the people on the bridge. But the mind wanders to a port city strangling. All the people who rely on ships in and out. The auto-ship imports, Domino Sugar, coal exports, dockwork, whatever container traffic we didn't lose to Norfolk. Industries. Jobs. Families."
Reactions To The Collapse Of The Francis Scott Key Bridge
One controversial response to the news came from Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser who simply wrote on Twitter: "Oh no." She's since deleted the tweet after facing tons of backlash. Check out more of the responses to the incident below and be on the lookout for further updates on HotNewHipHop.
[Via]