A history of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges

A list of notable disasters involving ships or barges hitting bridges in the US

A container ship struck a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to plunge into the river below.

Multiple workers and vehicles were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River when the Dali vessel ploughed into a support pillar at around 1.30am ET local time.

The Dali reportedly “lost propulsion” as it was leaving the port, with crew warning Maryland officials they had lost control of the container ship, ABC News said, citing and unclassified Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report.

The crew warned the MD Department of Transportation that an “allision with the bridge was possible,” the report said. “The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”

Harrowing footage captured the bridge crumpling into the freezing waters.

From 1960 to 2015, there have been 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States.

A list of notable disasters involving ships or barges hitting bridges in the US:

POPP'S FERRY BRIDGE

The Popp’s Ferry Bridge in Bilox (AP)

March 20, 2009: A vessel pushing eight barges rammed into the Popp's Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi, resulting in a 150-foot section of the bridge collapsing into the bay.

QUEEN ISABELLA CAUSEWAY: 8 DEAD

FILE - A section of the Queen Isabella Causeway is shown missing as crews break from their search and rescue (AP)

Sept. 15, 2001: A tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a midsection of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people died after motorists drove into the hole.

BIG BAYOU CANOT: 47 DEAD

Sept. 22, 1993: Barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard reached the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103 people.

SEEBER BRIDGE: 1 DEAD

May 28, 1993: The towboat Chris, pushing the empty hopper barge DM3021, hit a support tier of the Judge William Seeber Bridge in New Orleans. Two spans and the two-column bent collapsed onto the barge. Two cars carrying three people fell with the four-lane bridge deck into a canal. One person died and two people were seriously injured.

EADS BRIDGE: 50 INJURED

The Eads Bridge crosses the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

April 14, 1998: The Anne Holly tow traveling through the St. Louis Harbor rammed into the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight barges broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel below the bridge. Fifty people suffered minor injuries.

SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE: 35 DEAD

FILE - A car is halted at the edge of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay (AP)

May 9, 1980: The 609-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating through the narrow, winding shipping channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall knocked out the ship’s radar. The ship sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water. Thirty-five people died.