Last Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott urged CNN and other news organizations to remove the video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse that occurred early in the morning from their websites and broadcasts.
Video footage shared online shows the bridge, an important passageway for commerce along the East Coast, disintegrating in what seems to be a flash and plunging into the water below.
Local reports show that at the southern end of Baltimore Harbor, on the Patapsco River, the Key Bridge carries the Baltimore Beltway I-695, an essential route for commuters.
Early Tuesday morning, images and videos surfaced online depicting what seems to be extensive destruction. At 1:28 a.m. on March 26, security camera footage shows a ship colliding with a support column, causing the middle portion of the steel arch-shaped truss to collapse in a matter of seconds. The Key Bridge was supposedly the third longest among all continuous truss bridges.
According to a report, Mayor Scott asked CNN and others to cease airing videos of the bridge collapse. He claimed that reminding someone of the constant risk of serious harm to a loved one is something no one needs. He said the community was being traumatized. Scott said the situation was unbearable. At that moment, people were busy repairing the bridge, and automobiles fell into the river. The fire department, which is spearheading the current sonar-based search and rescue operation, verified that. The mayor said that rescuing those in the water is Baltimore’s current priority.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data buoy readings from just before sunrise on Tuesday indicated water temperatures of about 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Involuntarily inhaling underwater may induce drowning due to the shock of abrupt cold immersion.
At the time, Fire Chief James Wallace said that officials could be searching for more than seven individuals and that two individuals had been rescued.
