Baltimore bridge collapses into harbor after ship strike, causing mass casualty event
FOX NewsAPR 2024
Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Cargo Ship Crash
Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
Infrastructure in parts of the US has been neglected, and this can be the result of not putting money and ingenuity into preserving important roads and bridges. Other states should follow the lead of Florida, which has underwater structures to redirect ships that go off track, and builds its bridges with redundancy — the ability to perform their function even when damaged. Neglected American infrastructure must be addressed.
Narrative B
Maybe the bridge could've been in better shape at the time of this incident, but the quality of the bridge isn't to blame for this incident. This should be a lesson that shipping traffic needs to be better managed, and the size of cargo ships needs to be restricted. Even if this bridge had been rated better than fair — a classification most bridges in the US have — it might not have been a match for this extra-large vessel.