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Syrian WHO Chief Accused of Corruption, Fraud and Abuse

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Syrian WHO Chief Accused of Corruption, Fraud and Abuse

Staff at the WHO World Health Organization office in Syria claim their boss wasted millions of dollars, lavished presents on government officials (including laptops, gold coins, and cars), and acted carelessly as COVID-19 swept the country.

The Associated Press obtained more than 100 confidential documents, messages, and other materials from WHO officials who told investigators that the agency’s Syria representative, Dr. Akjemal Magtymova, engaged in abusive behaviour, pressured WHO staff to sign contracts with high-ranking Syrian government politicians, and consistently misappropriated WHO and donor funds.

Magtymova refused to comment on the claims, claiming that she was “forbidden” from releasing information “due to (her) duty as a WHO employee member.” She called the allegations “defamatory.”

According to staffers involved in the investigation, complaints from at least a dozen personnel spurred one of the largest internal WHO investigations in years, involving more than 20 investigators at times.

WHO acknowledged in a statement that it is evaluating the charges brought against Magtymova and has requested the assistance of external investigators.

“It has been a lengthy and complex study, with the circumstances in the country and the challenges of securing proper access while assuring staff protection adding further complications,” WHO added. The agency has progressed in analyzing Magtymova’s concerns and obtaining relevant material in recent months.

“Given the security circumstances, confidentiality and due process do not permit us to comment further on the particular claims,” WHO added. There was no indication of when the probe will be concluded.

WHO workers were mistreated

Last year, WHO’s Syria office had a budget of roughly $115 million to address health issues in a war-torn country where almost 90% of the population lives in poverty, and more than half critically needs humanitarian aid. For several months, investigators have been looking into claims that Syrians were mistreated and WHO workers were mistreated:

— According to financial documents, Magtymova once gave a $10,000 party at WHO’s expense, primarily to commemorate her own successes when the country struggled to procure coronavirus vaccines.

— In December 2020, amid the outbreak, she entrusted the country’s more than 100 WHO workers with learning a flash mob dance and filming themselves performing the rehearsed steps for a United Nations celebration, according to recordings and communications from The Associated Press.

— Six Syrian WHO public health experts alleged Magtymova repeatedly labelled personnel “cowards” and “retarded.” Worryingly, officials told agency investigators that Magtymova “offered favours” to key Syrian regime lawmakers and met secretly with the Russian military, potentially violating WHO’s neutrality as a U.N. entity. The employees preferred not to be identified for fear of retaliation, and three quit WHO.

A Syria-based staffer complained to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in May that Magtymova employed incompetent relatives of regime officials, including individuals guilty of “countless human rights crimes.”

“Dr. Akjemal’s aggressive and abusive actions are negatively impacting WHO’s performance in supporting Syrian people,” the staffer wrote, adding that “vulnerable Syrian people are losing a lot due to favouritism, frauds, and scandals instigated and supported by Dr. Akjemal, which is breaking all trust (and) driving donors away.”

Tedros did not reply to the allegation of the staffer. After Magtymova was placed on leave, WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean nominated an acting representative in Syria in May. However, she is still designated as the agency’s Syria representative in its staff directory and is paid at the director level.

Covid-19 relief in Hampered in Syria

Magtymova, a Turkmen national, has previously worked as the agency’s envoy to Oman and as the emergency coordinator in Yemen. She arrived in Syria in May 2020, just as COVID swept the globe.

“What we do (at WHO) is honourable,” she said in a statement announcing her appointment. “We earn respect via our competence, professionalism, and the outcomes we achieve.”

Numerous WHO personnel in Syria have informed investigators that Magtymova underestimated the severity of the pandemic in Syria, endangering the lives of millions.

“The situation in Syria was horrible during COVID-19,” one former WHO employee claimed. “However, the WHO was not giving sufficient relief to Syrians.” Medical supplies were “typically concentrated on Damascus solely, and not addressing other locations in Syria,” where drugs and equipment were in short supply.

Syria’s healthcare system has been destroyed by more than a decade of conflict, and the country has relied nearly entirely on international health assistance for many years. The presence of WHO in government-controlled areas has frequently sparked claims that its help is directed by Damascus, sanctioned by the US and the EU.

The war has displaced about 7 million people within Syria, with the majority living in tented camps in places outside of government authority.

Employees also questioned some of Magtymova’s own behaviour and directions to staff as coronavirus infections increased globally – even as WHO’s chief stated that the entire organization was working “tirelessly” to stop COVID-19.

Magtymova violated COVID-19 guidelines.

At least five WHO employees told investigators that Magtymova violated WHO’s own COVID-19 guidelines. They claimed she discouraged remote working, came to work after catching COVID, and held meetings in public. Four WHO employees claimed she contaminated others.

Magtymova directed the Syria office to learn a flash mob dance popularized by a social media challenge for a year-end United Nations function in December 2020, deep in the first year of the epidemic. Senior WHO officials in Geneva were recommending governments at the time to implement coronavirus safeguards, including the cancellation of any non-essential events.

“Kindly note that we want you to listen to the song, practice the moves, and shoot you dancing over the music to be part of our worldwide flash mob dance video,” said Rafik Alhabbal, a WHO communications worker, in an email to all Syria personnel. Magtymova also gave a link to a YouTube website that she characterized as having “the best tutorial.”

Several films show personnel, some wearing WHO vests or jackets, executing “the Jerusalema challenge” dance at medical supply offices and warehouses. Magtymova commended “extremely nice looking and gorgeous individuals” in footage shot in Aleppo and Latakia.

The following October, during one of the country’s worst COVID outbreaks, Magtymova engaged a choreographer and film studio to create a movie of personnel performing another dance to commemorate United Nations Day. There was no social separation during Magtymova’s celebration for dozens of uncovered people, which featured a “cake-eating ceremonial,” according to photos and video.

Magtymova unapologetic

Magtymova shared one of the dance videos on WHO Syria’s social media sites, but it drew so much backlash that her bosses asked her to take it down. According to Anas al-Abdah, a major Syrian opposition politician, the movie was “disgraceful.” “The organization should have (rather) captured the horrible plight of our people and sought justice,” he said.

Magtymova, on the other hand, was unapologetic.

“My message here is to not be discouraged,” she told the staff. “We have a big job to do and a big obligation to people; therefore, we did something very out of (the) box: we dared to shine.”

Internal records, emails, and texts also raise major concerns about how WHO’s taxpayer-funded money was utilized under Magtymova, with colleagues charging she frequently misappropriated restricted donor monies meant to help the more than 12 million Syrians in desperate need of medical assistance.

Among the occurrences being investigated is a reception Magtymova hosted last May after receiving a leadership award from her alma mater, Tufts University. The party, held at Damascus’ elite Four Seasons hotel, had a guest list of roughly 50 people at a period when less than 1% of the Syrian population had received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to a hotel invoice, the reception menu included Singaporean-style beef satay, fried goat cheese with truffle oil croquettes, sriracha chicken sliders, and a variety of seasonal mocktails. According to an internal WHO report, a production company was engaged to film the event and create a promotional video.

The evening’s itinerary included speeches from Syria’s health minister, followed by a reception and over two hours of live music. According to WHO documents, while the event was billed to celebrate WHO’s designation of 2021 as the Year of the Health and Care Worker, the evening was devoted to Magtymova rather than health workers. According to a spreadsheet, the total cost is more than $11,000.

Officials were concerned

Magtymova, like many other United Nations expatriate personnel in Syria, slept at Damascus’ ornately designed Four Seasons hotel. But, unlike the rest of the workers, she elected to remain in a multi-room suite with two bathrooms and a panoramic view of the city.

According to U.N. documentation, she stayed in the suite from October 2020 to this past May at a discounted rate of roughly $450 per night, more than four times the price of comparable U.N. employee accommodations. A hotel employee says similar suites typically cost around $940 per night.

The United States and the United Kingdom sanctioned the hotel due to its owner’s participation in financing Bashar Assad’s dictatorship; the United Nations is estimated to have spent $70 million there since 2014.

Other WHO officials were concerned about the organization’s inability to track its assistance to health facilities in Syria. In January, workers wrote about a concerning “spot check” performed on a health project in northern Syria, citing disparities between what WHO paid for and what was discovered.

The following flaws were identified: “the medicines quantities checked did not match the bills,” the employees lacked medical knowledge, there was missing equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches, and hearing aids, and the majority of the building was rented to store such things were empty.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandari, WHO’s eastern Mediterranean regional director and Magtymova’s boss, also criticized her for the Syria office’s failure to account for its spending.

He notified her in an email last October that there were numerous unsolved audit and compliance issues. Magtymova, according to Al-Mandari, had not completed multiple long-overdue reports showing how money was spent in Syria that required “urgent attention.” Without these reports, donors had little indication that Syria and WHO was using their monies as planned.

Magtymova spent WHO funding on gifts.

Three WHO procurement officials informed investigators that Magtymova was involved in multiple problematic contracts, including a transportation arrangement worth millions of dollars to a supplier with whom she had personal relationships.

Another staffer connected to Magtymova received $20,000 in cash to acquire pharmaceuticals, despite the lack of a request from the Syrian government, which is generally required to trigger such a purchase.

At least five employees reportedly complained that Magtymova spent WHO funding on gifts for the Ministry of Health and others, such as “very fine servers and computers,” gold coins, and costly cars. The Associated Press was unable to verify their claims. Several WHO employees claimed they were pressured to arrange deals with top members of the Syrian government for essential supplies such as petrol at inflated costs and that if they did not, they were demoted.

The allegations against WHO’s top representative in Syria follow a string of complaints against the UN health agency in recent years.

The Associated Press revealed in May that senior WHO management was aware of sexual assault during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in Congo but did little to stop it; a panel later discovered that more than 80 staff under WHO’s supervision sexually exploited women.

In January, the Associated Press reported that Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the director of WHO’s Western Pacific office, used racial language to berate colleagues and unlawfully shared confidential coronavirus vaccine material with his home nation, Japan, after an early inquiry confirmed some of the charges, WHO suspended Kasai from his position indefinitely in August.

The fresh allegations against WHO’s Magtymova are “very alarming,” according to Javier Guzman, director of global health at the Center for Global Development in Washington.

“This is a systematic issue,” Guzman added. “These charges occur not only in one of WHO’s offices but across numerous regions.”

Although some see Tedros as the world’s moral conscience during COVID-19, having consistently criticized vaccine inequities and asked for governments to act in solidarity, he claims that charges of misbehaviour have badly harmed the agency’s credibility. Guzman demanded that any inquiry report regarding Magtymova and the Syria office be made public.

According to WHO, probe reports are “usually not public papers,” but “aggregated, anonymized data” are shared with the organization’s Executive Board and made public.

Source: The Associated Press, CTN News

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It’s A Bittersweet Easter For Chocolate Lovers And African Cocoa Farmers But Big Brands See Profits

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Accra, Ghana – This year, shoppers may receive an unpleasant surprise in their Easter baskets. Chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever as changing climate patterns deplete global cocoa supplies and farmers’ profits in West Africa.

Cacao plants in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Cameroon provide almost three-quarters of the world’s cocoa used to make chocolate. However, dusty seasonal winds from the Sahara have been harsh in recent months, obscuring the sunlight required for bean pod growth. The season before, severe rainfall spread a rotting illness.

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It’s A Bittersweet Easter For Chocolate Lovers And African Cocoa Farmers But Big Brands See Profits

With shipments from the world’s largest producer, the Ivory Coast, falling by a third in recent months, the worldwide price of cocoa has climbed substantially. Cocoa futures have already doubled this year, trading at a record high of more than $10,000 a metric ton in New York on Tuesday, following a 60% increase the previous year. Farmers who harvest cocoa beans believe the raises need to be increased to offset reduced yields and increasing production costs.

However, the strong Easter demand for chocolate represents a potential treat for large confectionery producers. Major multinational manufacturers in Europe and the United States have more than passed on the increased cocoa prices to customers. The Hershey Company’s net profit margins climbed to 16.7% in 2023, up from 15.8% in 2022. Mondelez International, which owns the Toblerone and Cadbury trademarks, reported an increase to 13.8% in 2023 from 8.6% the previous year.

Wells Fargo stated in research this month that “it is likely that consumers will see a price spike on chocolate candy this Easter.”

Mondelez said it boosted chocolate prices by up to 15% last year and will consider further price increases to help reach revenue growth targets for 2024. “Pricing is clearly a key component of this plan,” CFO Luca Zaramella stated in January. “Its contribution will be a little bit less than we have seen in 2023, but it is higher than an average year.”

Hershey’s hiked pricing on its products last year and has not ruled out further rises. During a conference call with investors last month, Hershey Chairman, President, and CEO Michele Buck stated, “Given where cocoa prices are, we will be using every tool in our toolbox, including pricing, to manage the business.”

Consumers are keeping track in the United Kingdom?, a consumer research and services firm discovered that chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies from popular brands such as Lindt and Toblerone cost roughly 50% more this year. It also mentioned that certain candy eggs were smaller.

Cocoa trades on a regulated global market. Farmers sell to local dealers or processing firms, selling cocoa products to international chocolate makers. Prices are established up to one year in advance. Many farmers blame climate change for their bad harvests. Cacao plants only grow near the equator and are highly sensitive to weather fluctuations.

“The harmattan was severe at the time the pods were supposed to develop,” Fiifi Boafo, a spokesperson for the Ghana Cocoa Board, said. The cool trade winds carry enough dust to block the sunlight so the trees can flower and produce beans.

Months of rain have also been blamed for black pod disease, a fungal illness that thrives in cool, rainy, and overcast weather and causes pods to rot and harden.

“We have a wonderful deal today, but that isn’t it. Eloi Gnakomene, a cacao farmer on the Ivory Coast, claimed last month that cacao had not yet yielded any fruit. “People say that we’ve had a bit, but those living over that way, they’ve had nothing.”

Opanin Kofi Tutu, a cocoa farmer in Suhum, eastern Ghana, says the production gap and rising fertilizer expenses make it tough to live. “The exchange rate to the dollar is killing us,” he told reporters.

Tutu does not relate chocolate to any of the Easter festivities. “I’m looking forward to my wife’s kotomir and plantain, not chocolates,” he remarked, referring to a local sauce made from cocoyam leaves.

To boost output, officials are pushing education on farming methods that may reduce the consequences of climate change, such as the use of irrigation systems. The President of Ghana has also committed to intervening to help farmers receive a better deal.

easter

It’s A Bittersweet Easter For Chocolate Lovers And African Cocoa Farmers But Big Brands See Profits

“With the current trend of the world cocoa price, cocoa farmers can be assured that I will do right by them in the next cocoa season,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated last month.

The National Retail Federation, an American trade association, predicts that spending this Easter will remain high by historical standards despite increased candy prices. According to its most recent study, shoppers anticipated spending $3.1 billion on chocolate eggs, bunnies, and other sweets this Easter, a decrease from $3.3 billion the previous year.

According to the Chocosuisse industry group, domestic chocolate consumption in Switzerland, the world’s highest per capita, fell by 1% last year to 10.9kg per person. It connected the drop to an increase in retail chocolate pricing.

Lindt & Sprüngli, the country’s iconic chocolate company, reported increasing profitability, with margins jumping to 15.6% from 15% the year before.

“Lindt & Sprüngli Group’s business model once again proved to be very successful in the financial year 2023,” it said in a statement this month, noting that price rises accounted for most of the growth.

However, several smaller chocolate manufacturers need help to keep up with the rise in cocoa prices as sales fall.

easter

It’s A Bittersweet Easter For Chocolate Lovers And African Cocoa Farmers But Big Brands See Profits

Sandrine Chocolates, a London shop that sells handmade Belgian chocolates, is battling to stay open after decades in business. Niaz Mardan, the owner, stated that the United Kingdom’s cost-of-living issue and failing economy have made people more concerned about food than luxury chocolate, especially because cheaper alternatives are accessible at large grocery stores.

She has gotten rid of her two staff and relies on Easter and Christmas revenues to keep afloat. “Many, many times, I thought to close the shop, but because I love the shop, I don’t want to close it,” Mardan, the 57-year-old owner, said. “But there is no profit at all.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

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MOSCOW — The death toll from last week’s music hall attack in Moscow increased to 140 on Wednesday, with another victim dying in a hospital, according to Russian officials.

That victim was one of five who remained hospitalized in “extremely grave condition,” and physicians “did everything they could” to rescue them, according to Russia’s Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko.

According to the official, 80 individuals were hurt in the attack and are hospitalized, while 205 others sought outpatient medical care.

moscow

Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

The Friday night shooting at Crocus City Hall, a huge shopping and entertainment complex on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the bloodiest terrorist act on Russian soil in nearly two decades. Four attackers with automatic rifles targeted thousands of concertgoers and set fire to the arena.

An Islamic State affiliate claimed credit for the violence, while US intelligence confirmed the group’s involvement. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.

The day following the attack, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of 11 people, including four alleged gunmen. The four guys, all Tajik nationals, appeared in court in Moscow on Sunday on terrorist accusations and appeared to have been severely beaten. One person appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

Russian officials, meanwhile, have asserted that Ukraine and the West played a role, which Kyiv categorically rejects. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of attempting to incite frenzy as his forces fight in Ukraine.

Alexander Bortnikov, the FSB chief, also said that Western intelligence services may have been involved. “We believe that radical Islamists planned the action, while Western special services assisted it, and Ukrainian special services had a direct role in it,” Bortnikov added without providing further information.

moscow

Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

He echoed Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were attempting to flee to Ukraine when they were apprehended, citing it as evidence of Kyiv’s claimed involvement.

However, Belarus’ autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko, who stated on Tuesday that the suspects were on their way to Ukraine because they were concerned about tight border controls, called this allegation into question.

The Islamic State organization, which lost much of its territory after Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, IS bombed a Russian airplane over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 persons on board, the majority of them were Russian vacationers returning from Egypt.

The group, which primarily works in Syria and Iraq but also Afghanistan and Africa, has claimed multiple strikes in Russia’s dangerous Caucasus and other areas in recent years. It has recruited fighters from Russia and other former Soviet republics.

On Monday, Putin warned that similar strikes could occur, citing probable Western participation. He made no mention of the United States classified warning to Moscow about a probable imminent terrorist strike two weeks before the raid.

moscow

Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

Three days before the incident, Putin condemned the US Embassy’s March 7 notification urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, particularly concerts, as an attempt to intimidate Russians and “blackmail” the Kremlin ahead of the presidential election.

Bortnikov said Russia appreciated the warning, but it was quite vague.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

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BALTIMORE — A cargo ship lost power and slammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, demolishing it in seconds and dumping it into the river in a horrifying collapse that might shut down a vital maritime port for months. Six persons were missing, probably dead.

Maryland’s governor said the ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the collapse that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing officials to restrict car traffic on the span.

The spacecraft hit one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to fall like a doll. A part of the span came to rest on the vessel’s bow, which caught fire and emitted dense, black smoke.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that with the ship approaching the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” officials had barely enough time to prevent automobiles from crossing.

“These people are heroes,” Moore remarked. “They saved lives last night.”

On the 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) bridge, which 12 million vehicles used last year, the incident happened in the middle of the night, well before the hectic morning commute.

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Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

According to Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, the six unaccounted-for persons were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge.

A top executive at the company that employed the workers stated Tuesday afternoon that they were considered dead due to the depth of the water and the time since the collision.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed. No bodies have been found, and rescue workers resumed their search into the late afternoon.

“This was completely unexpected,” Pritzker remarked. “We do not know what more to say. We take great satisfaction in our safety measures, which include cones, signs, lights, barriers, and flaggers. But we never expected the bridge to collapse.”

Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows several of the team, said he was told they were on break and some were sitting in their vehicles when it collapsed.

“I was there a month ago, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass,” he said. Imagine being aware that you are falling. It is so difficult that one doesn’t know what to do.”

Rescuers plucked two persons from the water. One person was treated in a hospital and released several hours later. Although authorities believed no one was inside, multiple automobiles also entered the river.

“It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who described it as “an unthinkable tragedy.”

According to Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio communications acquired from the Broadcastify.com archive, a police dispatcher called immediately before the collapse to inform officers that a ship had lost its steering and requested that all traffic be stopped.

One cop who had stopped traffic said he would drive onto the bridge to notify the construction crew. But seconds later, a frightened cop exclaimed, “The entire bridge just collapsed. “Start, whoever, everybody… the entire bridge just collapsed.”

On a second radio channel for maintenance and construction personnel, someone reported that cops were blocking traffic because a ship had lost steering. There was no follow-up evacuation order, and the bridge collapsed 30 seconds later, leaving the waterway silent.

The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure reports that between 1960 and 2015, ship or barge collisions led to 35 significant bridge collapses.

The collapse is expected to cause a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, throughout the East Coast. It will halt ship movement at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also cause congestion in cargo and commuter traffic.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area and the entire East Coast,” Maryland State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.

Speaking at a news conference near the site, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was too early to determine how long it would take to clear the channel, approximately 50 feet (15 meters) deep.

“I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size,” he said.

Synergy Marine Group, which runs the Dali, said that the ship collided with a bridge pillar around 1:30 a.m. while piloted by one or more local specialists who assist in securely guiding vessels into ports. Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the ship.

Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots were safe, and no injuries were reported.

The governor said the ship was going at 8 knots, or around 9 mph (14.8 kph).

Jagged portions of the bridge could be seen protruding from the water’s surface. The on-ramp abruptly halted where the span had begun.

Donald Heinbuch, a former Baltimore fire chief, claimed he awoke to a powerful rumble that shook his house for several seconds. “It felt like an earthquake,” he explained.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

He drove to the river’s edge and could not believe what he saw.

“The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up,” he said.

The bridge, which opened in 1977, crosses the Patapsco River at the entrance to a thriving harbor that connects to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is named for the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Wiedefeld stated that all vessels that travel into and out of the port will be suspended until further notice. However, the facility would remain available to trucks.

President Joe Biden said he plans to visit Baltimore and that the federal government will cover the entire cost of reconstruction.

“This is going to take some time,” Biden explained. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”

According to Marine Traffic, the Dali was on its way from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was flying the Singapore flag. According to the website, the container ship is around 985 feet (300 meters) long and 157 feet (48 meters) broad.

bridge

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Powerless Cargo Ship Rams Into Support Column; 6 Presumed Dead

Inspectors discovered a fault with Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent inspection revealed no deficiencies, according to the maritime tracking system Equasis.

The Danish shipping company Maersk said it had rented the vessel.

According to the state, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion last year.

The president of a supply chain management firm said Americans can expect commodity shortages due to the fall in ocean container shipping and East Coast transportation.

“It’s not just the Baltimore port that will be affected,” said Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s CEO.

The collapse, however, is unlikely to impact global trade because Baltimore is not a significant container port, but its facilities are more vital for products such as farm equipment and automobiles, according to Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.

SOURCE – (AP)

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