The 7.5-minute video shows the bridge and the ship from various aerial angles, giving viewers perspective on just how bad the damage was.
Authorities are currently focused on seeking and rescuing people who may still be in the water, an amount that remains unknown, according to NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy.
“Nobody is going by a number,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “They are just looking and searching.”
Although President Joe Biden has vowed to rebuild the bridge, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg admitted that “the path to normalcy will not be easy, it will not be quick, it will not be inexpensive, but we will rebuild together”.
A search and rescue effort is underway after the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Interstate 695 in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday when it was struck by a ship, causing a number of vehicles to plunge into the Patapsco River below.
Eight people are believed to have fallen into the water following the collapse just before 1:30 a.m. Six of those individuals remained unaccounted for as of 10 a.m. local time, authorities said at a press conference.
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The eight people were part of a construction crew filling potholes, said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld. Their work had nothing to do with the structure of the bridge, which was up to code, Gov. Wes Moore said.
Two of those people were pulled from the water, said James Wallace, fire chief of Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD), at an earlier press conference. One person was uninjured and refused treatment, while the other was transported to a local trauma center and is in “very serious condition.”
Footage shared on social media showed the moment of the collapse:
The ship lost power and sent out a mayday call immediately before colliding with the bridge. This alert prompted workers on the bridge to stop vehicles from continuing onto it, said Moore.
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“These people are heroes,” he said of those workers.
Dive teams were at the scene, with sonar having detected the presence of submerged vehicles, Wallace said earlier. The temperature at the port was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the incident.
BCFD’s Wallace, speaking with CNN, said they had detected three passenger vehicles, a cement truck and a fifth vehicle submerged in the water using infrared and sonar technology. Authorities have not said whether there could be people trapped inside.
“This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Mayor Brandon Scott said. “We have to first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted.”
Baltimore Chief Richard Worley said, “There’s absolutely no indication that there’s any terrorism” or that the ship crash was intentional.
Moore also said that a preliminary investigation “points to an accident.”
A helicopter flies over a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday.
via Associated Press
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Asked about the possibility of a chemical spill, Wallace said they’ve noticed “odors of diesel fuel” but haven’t been able to confirm there’s a spill. All of the officials at the news conference stressed the fast-moving and changing nature of the situation.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he’s spoken with Moore and Mayor Scott to offer support following the collapse.
The ship was registered with Singapore and operating with 22 crew members on board. The container vessel’s manager, Synergy Marine Group, told Reuters that they have all been accounted for.
The vessel experienced a “momentary loss of propulsion” and dropped its anchors as part of emergency procedures before impact, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
“As a result, it was unable to maintain the desired heading and collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge,” it said.
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The container ship was built in 2015 and the following year it was involved in a minor collision with a wall in Antwerp, Belgium, which resulted in significant damage to its hull, according to maritime websites Shipwreck Log and Vessel Finder.
The incident took place in good weather and was blamed on a mistake by the master and pilot on board, according to Vessel Finder.
The 1.6-mile bridge, which opened in 1977, is named for the author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Key was near the current location of the bridge as he watched the American flag flying from nearby Fort McHenry during a British bombardment in the War of 1812, inspiring the poem that became the song.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said some 11.3 million cars pass over the bridge each year.
Mayor Scott said it was unbelievable to see the Key Bridge tumble, adding, “It was like something out of an action movie.”
The Princess of Wales explained that the news came as a “huge shock” to her and her family.
Kate has spent the last few months out of the public eye, following a planned abdominal surgery which was initially thought not to be cancer-related.
Here’s a look at what is publicly known about her condition at the moment.
When and how did Kate find out she had cancer?
When she had planned abdominal surgery on January 16 at a private facility – the London Clinic – Kensington Palace said her condition was “not cancer-related”.
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News of the surgery was announced the day after it happened. The Palace only said it was successful, but did not offer any further details.
In Friday’s video, Kate said “tests after the operation found cancer had been present” and she was now in the early stages of preventative chemotherapy.
Dr Yuman Fong, a surgeon at City of Hope cancer centre in Southern California, told Associated Press finding cancer after surgery for a noncancerous problem can happen in about 4% of procedures.
A patient can be going for a surgery related to what is thought to be a benign disease, like removing the gallbladder or ovarian cysts, when cancer can be found, according to Fong.
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It is common for tissues taken during surgery to be analysed at a lab afterwards, and that’s when other conditions may be detected.
A still of the Princess of Wales, provided by BBC Studios, in the video where she announced the news.
BBC STUDIOS/THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES
What is cancer and how common is it?
The NHS says: “Cancer is a condition where cells in a specific part of the body grow and reproduce uncontrollably. The cancerous cells can invade and destroy surrounding healthy tissue, including organs.”
Cancer can sometimes spread through the body, too – that’s known as secondary or metastatic cancer.
One in every two people in the UK will develop cancer in their lifetime.
There are more than 200 different types, and each one is diagnosed and treated differently.
Anyone can get cancer but the risk increases as people get older – more cases are found in people aged 50 and over – because there’s more time for cell damage to accumulate.
But, rates of cancer diagnosis are rising for younger people in developed countries, according to medical research. Kate is 42.
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Dr Fong told AP: “We hate it when young people get cancer but at the same time, they are the ones that recover best.”
Survival rates from cancer have doubled over the last 50 years, according to Cancer Research UK.
Kate did not reveal this, and neither did the Palace.
It’s unlikely they will any time soon, especially as the Princess of Wales has already shared an unprecedented amount of detail about her health.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “We will not be sharing any further private medical information. The princess has a right to medical privacy as we all do.”
What treatment is the Princess of Wales receiving?
Kate said in her statement her team advised her to start ‘preventative chemotherapy’ in late February.
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She is now in the early stages of this treatment.
Chemotherapy is an un umbrella term for medication – administered by drip or via pill – meant to kill cancerous cells.
It’s meant to stop the risk of cancer coming back again, although the amount needed and how regularly it needs to administered depends on the cancer.
According to the NHS website, chemo can cause some difficult side effects, though “many can be treated or prevented and most will pass once your treatment stops”.
Not everyone gets the same side effects, but some common ones include: anaemia, infections, loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea and hair loss.
Dr Monica Avila of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, told AP: “A patient can take anywhere from a few weeks to a month or two to recover from those effects.”
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When will Kate return to the public eye?
The Palace did not reveal a working timeline for Kate’s treatment, or the advice from her medical team who will decide when it is.
But, the royal officials seem confident Kate will recover.
The statement said: “The Princess is now on a recovery pathway.”
In her video statement, Kate said she had taken her time to tell the public her diagnosis because she wanted to first reassure her three children – aged 10 and under – that she was “going to be OK”.
“As I have said to them, I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal, in my mind, body and spirits,” Kate said.
Buckingham Palace said the King is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did”.
The pair have “remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks” after they spent time in hospital together, according to the spokesperson.
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They added that Charles and his wife, Camilla, “will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time”.
She said she is now undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
The news comes a few weeks after the monarch revealed he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year following a separate procedure for a benign prostate enlargement.
Charles is now going through a schedule of regular treatments.
The two royals were treated at the London Clinic at the same time earlier this year.
The Palace has not revealed what kind of cancer either of the senior royals has, and it is unlikely to do so.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle extended their sympathies to Kate from across the pond, saying: “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
Kate’s brother James Middleton also posted on Instagram about the news, sharing an old photo of the two of them alongside the caption: “Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together. As a family, we will climb this one with you, too.”
“Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together,” James wrote on Instagram, alongside a childhood photo with his eldest sibling. “As a family, we will climb this one with you too.”
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous,” Kate explained in the clip. “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”
She went on: “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
“We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s statement read.
The Princess of Wales’ diagnosis a little more than a month after that of King Charles III, who announced February 5 that he’d begun treatment for cancer. Similarly, Buckingham Palace did not disclose what kind of cancer the 75-year-old British monarch has, or its severity.
“We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement shared with HuffPost.
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In a video shared by Kensington Palace on Friday, the Princess of Wales spoke about her health struggles over the last few months.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous,” Kate said.
“The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present,” she explained. “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
“This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” the Princess of Wales said, adding that “it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
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Kate ended her message by saying that she looks forward to being back at work when she is able, but she is now focusing on “making a full recovery.”
“At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone,” she added.
The news comes at a shocking time for the royal family, as Buckingham Palace previously announced on February 5 that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, but did not specify the type or the cancer’s severity.
The cancer was discovered following a procedure the king underwent at the hospital for an enlarged prostate.
A harrowing food insecurity report has concluded that famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza, as millions of starving Palestinians face “catastrophic” food conditions in the territory amid Israel’s continued blockade of humanitarian aid.
According to the report, North Gaza and area governorates are projected to meet the definition of famine ― the IPC’s fifth and most severe phase of acute food insecurity ― anytime between now and May. In North Gaza, food security and malnutrition have become crises at the most dire level of the IPC’s scale.
Gaza’s southern governorates of Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah are presently classified as IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) situations in the report. These governorates, however, face a risk of famine through July in a worst-case scenario, according to the data.
Per the ICP, Gaza’s entire population of 2.23 million people are enduring high levels of acute food insecurity. About half of those people are expected to suffer “catastrophic conditions” if Israeli forces launch their planned ground offensive into the packed southern city of Rafah.
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“The upward trend in non-trauma mortality is also expected to accelerate, resulting in all famine thresholds likely to be passed imminently,” the group’s report said.
In December, the IPC warned that there needed to be an immediate reduction of hostilities and an increase in humanitarian access in order to prevent a “realistic chance” of starvation in Gaza. The agency’s analysis at the time said that Gaza’s crisis is “the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified”.
“If no steps are taken to cease hostilities and to provide more humanitarian access, famine is imminent,” Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, said Monday. “It could already be occurring. Immediate access is needed to facilitate delivery of urgent and critical assistance at scale.”
Gaza’s current crisis stems from Israel’s ongoing military campaign launched after Hamas militants attacked that country on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly another 250 hostage. More than five months later, the Gaza Health Ministry ― which has a record of providing casualty figures that closely reflect the UN’s own ― reports that Israeli forces have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, wounded nearly 73,400, displaced almost the entire population and blocked civilians from accessing most aid deliveries of food, water, fuel and medicine.
The dire situation in Gaza is “simply unbearable” and “unjustifiable”, according to Hiba Tibi, country director for aid group CARE International in Gaza and the West Bank. “Our earlier fears that more would die in Gaza from hunger, dehydration and disease than from bombs, were well-founded, sadly. Starvation is cruel. It is a slow and painful death.”
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“Our partners who run health centres in Northern Gaza have reported that the number of children categorized as having moderate or severe malnutrition nearly doubled in February, compared to January. Their staff report watching children get thinner and thinner as the days go by and of kids who can barely speak and walk due to starvation,” she continued. “We also hear of kids being born and dying in shelters without even being registered in the hospitals. It’s like they don’t exist.”
Boys wait while holding empty pots with other displaced Palestinians queueing for meals provided by a charity organization ahead of the fast-breaking “iftar” meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 16.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
The UN Children’s Fund recently warned that life-threatening malnutrition was “spreading fast”, supported by the IPC’s report detailing how adults in Gaza have reduced their meals so their children can eat. The FAO said that at least 10 times in the last month, almost two-thirds of northern Gaza households went “entire days and nights” without eating.
Northern Gaza was the first target of Israel’s invasion, and has become the centre of the territory’s humanitarian crisis, with much of the region completely destroyed. A third of children under two years of age in the north are acutely malnourished, according to the FAO, and the Gaza Health Ministry said last week that 27 Palestinians, mostly children, had died of malnutrition in the north.
Monday’s report confirms what aid groups have been trying to convey to the world about the starvation crisis facing Palestinians in the territory. The international community has continued to call for a permanent cease-fire, the release of all remaining hostages, accountability for civilian casualties and the safe passage and distribution of more aid to Palestinians.
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“From the destruction of farms, flour mills and food processing sites, to ongoing fighting preventing the safe movement of humanitarian actors, to the blocking of aid, the people of Gaza are being starved to death. What’s worse, they have all too often been killed in attacks when seeking out food to keep their children alive,” Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, CEO of the aid group Mercy Corps, said in a statement, stressing that the denial of humanitarian access violates international law.
“We cannot wait for an official famine declaration in Gaza to act when it is abundantly clear that people are and will continue dying from hunger and malnutrition,” she continued. “Today’s report must be a wake-up call for all parties with leverage over Israel to dramatically change course. Gazans cannot wait any longer.”
NHS England’s decision to stop offering transgender youth puberty blockers has been described as “a blow” to the community by a charity.
Mermaids has criticised the decision, saying trans youth are “no exception” when it comes to universal access to healthcare.
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What are puberty blockers?
Puberty blockers stop hormones which trigger irreversible physical changes (such as testosterone and oestrogen), that’s why they have been seen as a lifeline to some trans youth.
According to NHS England’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), puberty blockers are a “physically reversible treatment if stopped”.
However, the website claims it is “not known what the psychological effects may be”.
At the moment, fewer than 100 young people in England are prescribed puberty blockers on the NHS.
As of Tuesday this week, puberty blockers will only be available through a mandatory research trial rather than available “routinely”.
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But, those currently on puberty blockers will be able to continue their treatment.
Health minister Maria Caulfield praised the announcement, saying “children’s safety and wellbeing is paramount”, describing the move was a “landmark decision” and “in the best interests of the child”.
The ruling also comes weeks before the publication of an independent review into gender identity services in England.
An interim report, published 2022, suggested that there were “gaps in evidence” around the impact of the drugs.
What does Mermaids say?
Trans youth charity, Mermaids, told HuffPost UK: “This announcement is deeply disappointing, and a further restriction of support offered to trans children and young people through the NHS, which is failing trans youth.
“There were virtually no first appointments offered in 2023, with ever-growing waiting lists of over five years.
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“Those currently prescribed puberty blockers won’t see any changes to their treatment, and this is a pause on prescribing – not a ban.
“It’s also important to note that puberty blockers can be just one possible part of a young person’s gender journey.
“However, this news still comes as a blow and will deeply affect our communities.”
Mermaids added: “Everyone deserves access to healthcare, and to live happy and healthy lives. Trans youth are no exception.”
The manhunt for alkaline attack suspect has entered its fifth day, with Abdul Ezedi, 35, who has “significant injuries to the right side of his face”, still on the run. Here’s everything we know so far.
What happened?
Police say a girl and her mother were left with potentially life-changing injuries after they had a corrosive substance thrown on them in south London on Wednesday.
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Officers received reports that a man pushed a three-year-old girl to the ground and threw an alkaline substance at her, her eight-year-old sister and the girls’ 31-year-old mother on Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, a residential area in south London, on Wednesday evening.
The woman and the three-year-old girl suffered potentially life-changing injuries, the Metropolitan Police said. Police said the suspect was believed to be someone known to the victims, but they did not elaborate.
The suspect made off in his car which crashed nearby. He then left the vehicle and ran off. Twelve people were injured in total in the attack.
The Met has released CCTV video footage of Ezedi in the Tesco on Caledonian Road, where he is seen buying what appears to be water in the self-service checkout before leaving the shop.
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Superintendent Gabriel Cameron reading a statement to the media on Lesser Avenue, near Clapham Common, south London.
PA Video – PA Images via Getty Images
Who is the suspect?
The Metropolitan Police identified the suspected assailant as 35-year-old Abdul Ezedi and released an image of his last-known sighting, which placed him on Caledonian Road in Islington, north London at 8.48pm on Thursday.
It has been reported that Ezedi, who is from Afghanistan, twice unsuccessfully tried to claim asylum in the UK and has also been convicted of sexual offences.
He was eventually allowed to stay in this country after converting to Christianity.
The Met said it is working with Northumbria Police as the wanted man may be trying to return to Newcastle, where he had been living.
The case has re-ignited the debate about the UK’s asylum system, with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick among those demanding answers.
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In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Today programme presenter Nick Robinson accused Jenrick of “drawing the wrong conclusions” by attacking the asylum system.
What are the police doing?
The manhunt entered its fifth day on Monday with a £20,000 reward in place for anyone with information leading to Ezedi’s arrest.
More than 200 calls have been received from members of the public with potential sightings, but they have since been discounted.
Counter-terrorism officers have been drafted in to help scour hundreds of hours of CCTV in the search for the 35-year-old.
Police at the scene in Lessar Avenue near Clapham Common, south London, where a woman and her two young children have been taken to hospital after a man threw a suspected corrosive substance on Wednesday evening.
James Weech – PA Images via Getty Images
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Detectives are working on the premise that he is either being hidden by someone or has come to harm.
He was using his bank card to travel around on the Tube network, but the card has not been used since Wednesday.
Ezedi does not have his phone on him – which makes the search more challenging, officers said – as it has been recovered and analysed by police.
Officers arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender on Monday and later released him on bail.
The Duke of Sussex has spoken with King Charles about his condition and will travel to the UK to see him in the coming days, a source close to Prince Harry has said.
Harry and the Duchess of Sussex quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to the US after their suggested “half in-half out” approach to royal life was rejected.
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In Harry and Meghan’s primetime Oprah interview in 2021, Harry said Charles stopped taking his calls when he was trying to discuss stepping down as a working royal.
“My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that,” Harry told Winfrey.
Harry has a long-running rift with his brother, the Prince of Wales. Charles pleaded with his sons to reconcile at their grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021. “Please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery,” Charles allegedly said.
A previously unseen portrait of King Charles taken during a state visit to France last year.
Royal Family
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The palace did not go into detail about the kind of cancer the King has, or its severity, but said he has begun treatment.
“During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted,” the palace said in a statement shared with HuffPost.
“Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties.”
The palace made sure to note that the monarch “will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual”.
“The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure,” the palace said, adding that Charles “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible. His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
