Emergency services have been searching for at least seven people after a Baltimore bridge struck by a container ship collapsed, an incident that has been referred to as a "developing mass casualty event."
A large vessel hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge about 1:30 a.m., catching fire and causing vehicles to fall into the Patapsco River. Authorities have referred to the situation as a "dire emergency."
With rescue efforts ongoing, a video was shared on social media claiming to show an "alternate angle" of the crash, depicting a massive explosion.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @cackenbools, posted on March 26, 2024, viewed 354,300 times, included a video of a bridge being hit by a fiery explosion.
User @cackenbools wrote "Alternate angle on Francis Scott Key bridge shows a large explosion 👀."
The Facts
Speaking to the Associated Press, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore City Fire Department, said it is too early to know how many people have been affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Emergency services began receiving calls at around 1.30 a.m. after the ship struck the bridge. The Maryland Transportation Authority has urged motorists to avoid the bridge, which is part of Interstate 695.
Footage of the incident has been posted on social media, appearing to show the ship hit one of the supports, followed quickly by the bridge's entire collapse.
However, the "alternate angle" video is not from the Francis Scott Key Bridge. It is a film reportedly of the October 2022 attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea.
The original footage was widely shared by world media at the time, including the BBC.
The bridge has been attacked twice in the past two years, once in October 2022 and again in July 2023. Kyiv has since claimed responsibility for both strikes.
Like the collapse in Baltimore, reports about the attack on the Kerch Strait were followed by a stream of mislabeled and misleading videos.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977 and was named after the author of the U.S. national anthem.
Cartwright said there were multiple vehicles on the bridge when it was hit, including one the size of a tractor-trailer, adding there were "some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge," creating unsafe and unstable conditions.
The Ruling
False.
The video shared on social media is not of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse at an "alternate angle." The video, falsely attributed to the Baltimore disaster, was attributed to the October 2022 attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
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