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Why Bridges Collapse: The Baltimore Disaster

On 26 March 2024, a 100,000-tonne container ship, the MV Dali, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Tragically, six people lost their lives, the Port of Baltimore was closed indefinitely and an iconic piece of Baltimore’s skyline was destroyed. \n\nIn the immediate aftermath of the collision, rescue teams combed the site for survivors, a salvage operation led by the US Army, Navy and Coastguard swung into action, and investigators raced to gather evidence for what caused this catastrophic incident.\n\nIn the early hours of the morning, the Dali left port, bound for Sri Lanka. But just 49 minutes after its departure, it suffered a series of blackouts which caused the engine and steering to shut down. Despite attempts by the crew to regain power, the ship was on a collision course with one of the main supports of the Key Bridge.\n\nWhy did the ship lose power? What caused it to veer off course? And why did the entire bridge collapse? \n\nWith exclusive access to the investigators and the salvage operation, this film follows the inside story of what happened next, in the words of the people who were there. As investigators piece together new evidence to uncover why the bridge collapsed, engineers, divers and salvage masters work to lift the 45,000-tonne wreckage from the river bed and restore vital access to Baltimore’s busy port. \n\nAn innovative mix of current affairs investigation and scientific analysis, the film also explores other cases of ships crashing into bridges and interviews key decision makers, including the United States' secretary of transportation, Pete Buttigieg. Shockingly, bridges across the US are deemed vulnerable to this kind of catastrophe, but innovations in AI and engineering offer hope.

Source: BBC 1