The Archbishop of Baltimore (United States), Bishop William Lori, called this Tuesday to join in prayer after a container freighter hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in that city, causing a catastrophic collapse early this Tuesday, 26 March.
The nearly 300-meter cargo ship collided with one of the bridge’s support columns just before 1:30 a.m. (local time). Images on social media showed that the more than two-and-a-half kilometre-long multi-lane bridge quickly collapsed after being hit.
In a statement posted hours later on the social network of Baltimore.”
“Pray with me for all those involved, especially for the victims who were travelling along the stretch at the time of impact, the construction crews on site, and all the first responders who acted urgently to rescue the survivors,” the prelate wrote.
The Bishop of Arlington, Virginia, Bishop Michael Burbidge, also called for prayers Tuesday morning. The Diocese of Arlington is located about 40 miles from the bridge.
“In this time of uncertainty, when rescuers are working heroically to find survivors of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, I call on all people of goodwill to pray for more survivors to be rescued and for first responders, the victims and their families,” wrote Bishop Burbidge in X.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the whereabouts of at least six people reportedly on the bridge at the time of the collapse were unknown.
Maryland State Governor Wes Moore said Tuesday that a mayday call from the ship before the accident allowed authorities to close the bridge just before the collapse, preventing traffic from crossing when the bridge collapsed.
For his part, President Joe Biden said he had “directed my administration to ensure that all federal resources are available to assist in the search and rescue efforts and response to this terrible incident.”