PARIS, March 26, 2024 (AFP) – The Dali container ship that caused the collapse of a key bridge in Baltimore is recently built and flies under Singapore’s flag. It was constructed by the Korean Hyundai shipyard in 2015 and is 300 metres long (985 feet), 48 metres wide and 24.8 metres tall, with gross tonnage of 95,000 tonnes, making it an average-sized container ship. It had left Baltimore port at 1 am local time Tuesday […]
Tag: incident
Port blocked by Baltimore bridge collapse is key hub for US shipping
BALTIMORE, March 26, 2024 (AFP) – Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, named after the poet who penned the lyrics to the US national anthem, used to carry an average of around 31,000 passengers a day across one of the busiest harbors in the United States. Its nighttime collapse, within seconds of being struck by a container ship, is likely to cause substantial economic damage for as long as it continues to force the closure of […]
Baltimore bridge collapses after ship collision
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2024 (AFP) – The Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore collapsed after a ship collided with it, the Maryland Transportation Authority said early Tuesday. “I-695 Key Bridge collapse due to ship strike,” the MTA posted on social media platform X, referring to the interstate highway. It urged drivers to avoid the route over the Patapsco River, which it called an “active scene”. Earlier, the MTA had said interstate […]
Violence erupts in Dublin after school knife attack
By Peter MURPHY DUBLIN, Nov 23, 2023 (AFP) – Protesters on Thursday fought running battles with police, torched vehicles and looted shops in Dublin, after three young children were injured in a knife attack outside a school. Police in riot gear stood guard on the streets in the Irish capital as crowds taunted them with chants and set off fireworks. Near O’Connell Bridge, over the River Liffey, flames rose from a torched car and bus, […]
Off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down engines was on mushrooms: documents
LOS ANGELES (AFP) The off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down the engines of a plane mid-flight over the weekend had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents showed Tuesday. Pilots wrestled Joseph Emerson out of the cockpit on Sunday after he lunged for handles that would have starved the engines of fuel and turned the plane into a glider. Emerson, who told police he had not slept […]
11 dead after gym roof collapse in China
BEIJING, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Eleven people died after the roof of a school gym collapsed in northeastern China, state media reported Monday. The collapse in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province was caused by construction workers illegally placing perlite — a form of volcanic glass — on the building’s roof, state news agency Xinhua said. Heavy rain then led the perlite to expand and increase in weight, causing the roof to collapse, it added. Footage aired […]
Qantas flight lands safely in Sydney after mid-air mayday
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Ambulance services scrambled at Sydney airport on Wednesday to meet an incoming Qantas plane that issued a mid-air mayday alert with engine trouble before landing safely. The flight — QF144 — was carrying 145 passengers from Auckland, New Zealand, a statement from Qantas said. The Boeing 737-800 plane landed without incident on the runway at Sydney airport, said an AFP reporter at the scene, and will now be inspected by engineers. […]
Fires, explosions erupt in multiple US towns near Boston
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Mass evacuations from US towns north of Boston were underway Thursday after dozens of fires and suspected gas explosions erupted, police said, leaving at least 10 residents injured, one critically. Massachusetts State Police said they had responded to 70 reports of fires, explosions and the smell of gas in a widespread zone encompassing the east coast towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. “Gas lines are currently being […]
Seattle plane stolen by airport worker found destroyed
SEATTLE, United States (AFP) — US investigators found Sunday the Horizon Air passenger plane stolen by a troubled Seattle airport worker smashed to pieces on a sparsely populated island as his family reacted with “complete shock,” CNN reported. After falling through several 100-foot (30-meter) lines of trees, the Bombardier Q400 plane broke up into pieces small enough to pick up by hand, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Western Pacific Region chief Debra Eckrote said. “You […]
Police see mental illness behind deadly German van attack
by Tom BARFIELD and Deborah COLE in Berlin Agence France Presse MUNSTER, Germany (AFP) — German authorities investigating a deadly van ramming attack focused Sunday on mental health problems of the driver, as the city of Muenster mourned for the two people killed on a sunny afternoon at an open-air restaurant. “There are strong indications at the moment that this was a lone perpetrator and that there were no links to the terror scene,” federal […]
German police rule out ‘political motive’ in van attack
MUENSTER, Germany (AFP) — German police said Sunday they did not see an extremist motive behind a ramming attack with a van that claimed two lives and placed the driver’s mental health issues in the foreground. There are “no indications of a political motive,” said Hajo Kuhlisch, chief of police in western city Muenster where the attack took place. Rather, “the motive and origins (of the crime) lie within the perpetrator himself,” he added. Far-right […]
Man drives into crowd in Germany, at least 2 dead
by Tom Barfield © Agence France-Presse MUENSTER, Germany (AFP) — A man smashed a van into a packed restaurant terrace in Germany Saturday killing at least two people before shooting himself dead, with authorities ruling out an “Islamist” motive. Images of the scene showed broken and upturned tables and chairs strewn across the pavement in the center of the picturesque medieval city of Muenster. While stressing that the investigation was still ongoing, state interior minister […]





