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Remembering the day: Six months ago, the Key Bridge collapsed

WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore | By Matt Bush
Published September 26, 2024 at 12:20 PM EDT
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A boat moves past a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. The container ship lost power and rammed into the major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers searched for survivors.
Mark Schiefelbein

March 26th, 2024.

It’s a day that Baltimore and the state of Maryland won’t soon forget.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed that morning around 1:30 a.m. after a cargo ship, the Dali, struck one of its supports. A mayday call from the crew of that ship allowed authorities to stop traffic from being on the bridge. But a crew of eight workers patching potholes were still on it. Six of them died as the nearly 50-year-old bridge fell into the Patapsco River.

WYPR news is marking the day with encore coverage of the collapse.

Key Bridge Encore Coverage: Debris cleanup
In this report from April, WYPR’s Emily Hofstaedter goes to Sparrows Point where bridge debris was taken after being removed from the wreck

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Key Bridge Encore Coverage: Flags of convenience
In this report from April, WYPR’s Scott Maucione looks at ships that fly ‘flags of convenience’ — meaning it’s registered in a country to take advantage of lax regulations and standards

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Find more coverage of the Key Bridge collapse below or click here.

WYPR NewsFrancis Scott Key Bridge collapsePatapsco RiverBaltimore transportationBaltimore CityPort of Baltimore
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Matt Bush
Matt Bush spent 14 years in public radio prior to coming to WYPR as news director in October 2022. From 2008 to 2016, he worked at Washington D.C.’s NPR affiliate, WAMU, where he was the station’s Maryland reporter. He covered the Maryland General Assembly for six years (alongside several WYPR reporters in the statehouse radio bullpen) as well as both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. @MattBushMD
See stories by Matt Bush
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  3. Families of Key Bridge collapse victims to file lawsuit against shipping company
  4. Maryland Transportation Authority taps Kiewit to design Key Bridge rebuild
  5. Survivor of Key Bridge collapse: ‘I looked at the bridge and it was no longer there’
  6. NTSB says electrical breaker failure caused blackout on ship that hit Key Bridge
  7. The Dali is leaving the Port of Baltimore. Authorities are taking safety precautions.
  8. Johns Hopkins starting nationwide study on bridge safety after Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore
  9. Poorly regulated foreign vessels could cause a repeat of Baltimore bridge collapse in other U.S. ports
  10. FBI opens criminal probe into Key Bridge collapse, raids Dali
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  12. In photos: Crews dismantle Key Bridge wreckage