Amid the Baltimore Bridge mishap, a claim has recently surfaced on social media site X(Twitter) stating that all 22 crew members aboard the container ship pulverise Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Sharing a screenshot on X(Twitter), an account by the username of @LaurenWitzkeDE wrote: ” A bunch of Pajeets pulverizing an American bridge named after the man who wrote America’s national anthem is almost prophetic”.

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team investigated the above claim by searching some keywords on Google. We found some media reports during this process.

Media reports from Deccan Herald, Livemint, Hindustan Times and India Today

A media report by the Deccan Herald stated: “Maryland Governor Wes Moore also told reporters that the cargo ship crew alerted authorities about a “power issue” before the vessel collided with the bridge. This mayday call enabled workers to stop more vehicular traffic from coming onto the bridge”.

Furthermore, another recent report by Hindustan Times asserted: “While the US officials, including President Joe Biden, praised the workers involved in the search and rescue operation, Indian crew members onboard the Ship ‘Dali’ emerged as “heroes” after the Maryland Department of Transportation revealed that their alert assisted them in closing the bridge to traffic before the disastrous crash”.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. They saved lives last night.”, mentioned in India Today’s report.

In addition, a media report from Livemint also cited similar facts concerning the Baltimore Bridge mishap.

Reports from HT and Dailymail.co.uk

Media outlet Hindustan Times published a media report on March 27 with the headline: “Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Ship Dali’s black box recovered, crew could be stranded on board for two weeks”. In this report, HT mentioned that all 22 Indian crew members of the vessel, including two local pilots, could be trapped on board for the next two weeks as a portion of the Key Bridge crashed onto the ship’s back, reported Daily Mail”.

Subsequently, a media report from Dailymail.co.uk stated that the Doomed cargo ship Dali was being piloted by a LOCAL crew who were trained to AVOID obstacles in the Baltimore port – as it emerged 100,000-ton vessel ‘lost control and propulsion’ moments before smashing into the bridge.

Conclusion

It is evident from DFRAC’s fact-check the claim stating thatall 22 crew members aboard the container ship pulverised Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is misleading as a Mayday call from the crew before the vessel collided enabled workers to stop more vehicular traffic from coming onto the bridge

Analysis: Misleading