Baltimore Bridge Collapse: What Happened? |

Dramatic scenes caught on camera in Baltimore after a container vessel Dali, rammed into the column of Francis Scott Key bridge leading to the entire bridge collapsing into the Patapsco River.

Sources have said that all the top four executives of the ill-fated ship are Indian nationals. Sources also indicate that the collision could be a result of main engine or steering failure.

The Francis Scott Key bridge was constructed in 1977 and is named after the poet who wrote America's national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.

He called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event,” though he didn’t know at the time how many people were affected.

How does a container vessel equipped with all modern navigational aids ram into a 47-year-old bridge that stands out on any map let alone a river?

Capt DK Sharma, formerly of the Indian Navy, is StratNews Global’s resident naval and maritime affairs specialist. In his view, it would be unfair at this point to blame the captain of the ship or the pilots guiding the container vessel Dali out to open sea.

Video images of the Dali suggest it may have experienced a loss of control, which is what the Singapore’s Synergy Marine which operates the vessel claims.