A huge blast ripped through a ship on the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, close to the site of a fatal bridge collapse. The 751-foot W-Sapphire bulk carrier was close to the Francis Scott Key Bridge location when it erupted in a fireball, the Baltimore City Fire Department said. No one was hurt, but authorities said responders found “damage consistent with a fire and explosion” after making their way out to the commercial vessel, which had 23 people onboard, according to The New York Times. Speaking to the outlet, BCFD spokesperson John Marsh said the W-Sapphire was still afloat but would remain in the hands of authorities in a “designated anchorage area” until the U.S. Coast Guard gives it the green light to leave. VesselFinder records the Liberia-registered ship was bound for Port Louis, Mauritius, and had been due to arrive there in mid to late September. The blast is near the site of the collision between the 947-foot Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, which claimed the lives of six workers and destroyed the bridge built in 1977.
Read it at The New York Times
