Structural engineer John Pistorino reacted to the collapse of the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge by comparing the catastrophe to other bridge disasters from the past.
Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge was gone in a flash early Tuesday after a cargo ship collided with one of its pillars, snapping the structure into pieces and sending it tumbling into the water below. As rescuers scramble to find multiple people who remain missing and as the details remain unclear, experts weigh what could have possibly caused the catastrophe. One structural engineer – John Pistorino – says he's 'surprised' the ship was able to take down the structure at all.
Back over in Tampa, we do have some means underwater now, so if the ship does get out of its own direction, it will divert it away from the critical parts of the bridge. There's underwater structures that the ship would come across before it actually got to the bridge itself,' he continued, referencing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that saw a similar disaster in the Tampa Bay area decades ago.
Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., revealed in one of the press conferences that the cargo ship involved in the collapse issued a 'mayday' call that enabled local officials to limit traffic on the bridge before the collision took place. An estimate of at least six people remain unaccounted for, with search and rescue efforts ongoing. Cold temperatures, including chilly waters, however, elicited fears that those submerged in water would be subjected to hypothermia over time.
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