The Collapse Of The Baltimore Bridge, Disrupts Exports And Imports Of Automotive Industries In The US

Collapse of the Bridge in Baltimore. (Doc. StreamTime Live)

JAKARTA - A container ship crashed into a bridge with four lanes in the port of Baltimore, United States, in the early hours of Tuesday local time, causing the bridge to collapse and causing vehicles and people above it to fall into the river below.

It is not yet known exactly how many people were killed or injured in the disaster. The Baltimore Fire Department called it an "incident with many casualties."

#BREAKINGNEWS #maryland #baltimore #Keybridge collapses after contact with cargo ship pic.twitter.com/A1LmKwZxkX

— Hayward Jablomi (@HaywerdJablomi) March 26, 2024

#BREAKINGNEWS #marbaltimore #Keybridge collapses after contact with cargo ship pic.twitter.com/A1LMKwZxxX

Maryland transport authorities say traffic at Baltimore Port is suspended until further notice. It is known, the port is the busiest US port for car deliveries, handling more than 750,000 vehicles by 2022.

Launching Autonews, March 26, the port of Baltimore is an important port for the US automotive industry where export and import activities take place for manufacturers such as Nissan, Toyota, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, to Volkswagen.

The closure of one of the main ports on the US East Coast threatens to disrupt the supply of goods, ranging from cars, coal, and other commodities such as sugar. Experts say this can create congestion and increase delays and costs on the coast of the Northeast. This port handles most car imports and is one of the largest for coal exports.

Rescue teams managed to evacuate two survivors, one in critical condition, and are looking for more casualties in the Patapsco River after a large stretch of the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed into the water.

Baltimore officials said at least seven people were believed to have fallen into the water but were unable to provide an exact figure hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest US ports.