US citizens woke up on the morning of Tuesday, March 26, to the stunning images of a rare collision, which were captured on camera: The impact that occurred overnight, which saw a 300-meter-long freighter, the Dali, hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which crumpled from the middle as a result of the impact. The steel structure sank into the waters of the Patapsco River, in the south-east of Baltimore, Maryland.

Authorities were quick to cut short speculation about the cause of the disaster. "The preliminary investigation points to an accident," said Maryland governor Wes Moore, a Democrat. "We haven't seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack." While the authorities have declared a state of emergency, an investigation was launched immediately. The task was to determine any mechanical or human problems aboard the Dali, and to examine any potential structural weaknesses in the bridge.

The top priority in the early hours was to search for six missing workers, who were repairing potholes in the asphalt of the four-lane structure. A total of eight people have been hospitalized. Teams of divers and helicopters were mobilized to try to rescue victims from the waves. The human death toll could have been far more catastrophic: The collision took place at night, at a time when road traffic is light. Moreover, many drivers were able to stop their vehicles before they reached the bridge, once the ship's crew had sounded the alarm.

The cargo ship is registered as sailing under a Singapore flag. It left the port of Baltimore at 1 am, bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. Half an hour later, it struck the bridge, after having sustained an electrical failure, according to initial reports. The crew had immediately issued a distress call. The images captured clearly show that on approaching the bridge, the Dali was unable to right its trajectory. The lights on board were switched off and on again several times in a short space of time. The container ship struck a central pillar of the bridge, which gave way a few moments later; causing a large part of the steel structure on either side to collapse. All 22 crew members of the Dali were unharmed.

An exceptional mobilization was launched, combining city, state and federal resources. Joe Biden was informed of the situation at dawn, and met with all of the key elected officials, from the city's mayor to the state governor and senators. In a midday address, the President pledged to provide them with "all the federal resources they need" to rebuild the bridge as quickly as possible without waiting for any legal action against the ship's owner, Synergy Marine Group.

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