Pilots of the cargo ship that crashed into a major bridge in the U.S. city of Baltimore, Maryland, issued a mayday call shortly before the structure collapsed into a river, enabling authorities to save lives, according to the state’s governor.
一艘货轮周二(3月26日)撞上美国马里兰州巴尔的摩市的一座大型桥梁，大桥随即坠入河中。据州长说，船上的领航员就在事发之前曾发出紧急呼叫。
"We can confirm that the crew notified authorities of a power issue," Maryland Governor Wes Moore told reporters Tuesday morning, hours after the incident. Moore said the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali had no power before smashing into one of two main columns supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge and causing the bridge to collapse.
在事故发生后数小时，马里兰州长韦斯·摩尔(Wes Moore)周二早晨对记者们说：“我们可以证实船员通知当局出现动力问题。”摩尔说，悬挂新加坡旗帜的集装箱货轮“大理号”(Dali)在撞上弗朗西斯·斯科特·基大桥(Francis Scott Key Bridge)的两座主要支柱之一并导致桥梁坍塌之前，失去了动力。
Moore said the crew’s warning enabled transportation officials to quickly halt traffic along the interstate highway crossing over the bridge. "These people are heroes. They saved lives last night," the governor said. The ship’s crew also dropped its anchors in a futile attempt to avert the disaster.
摩尔州长说，船上人员发出的警告使运输官员迅速停止了州际高速公路跨桥路段的交通。他说：“这些人是英雄。他们昨夜拯救了生命。”船上人员还抛下船锚，试图避免灾难，但未能成功。
Even so, eight people on the bridge, reportedly all part of a construction repair crew filling highway potholes, were believed to have plummeted into the Patapsco River during the incident, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
尽管如此，桥上有八人据信在事件中落入帕塔普斯科河。据报道，他们是公路维修队人员，当时正在填补路坑。有两名工人获救，其中一人伤势严重，被送入一家创伤中心，另一人没有受伤。搜救人员仍在寻找其他六人，潜水员面对着大约摄氏9度的刺骨水温。
Video showed a large section of the bridge quickly collapsing into the river after the Dali collided with the support column. The vessel is 48 meters (157 feet) wide and 300 meters (984 feet) long and was loaded with cargo containers setting sail for Sri Lanka.
视频显示，“大理号”撞上桥柱后，这座桥梁的一大部分塌入河中。这艘船有48米宽，300米长，运载着货物集装箱，驶往斯里兰卡。
Authorities said several vehicles — perhaps five — were on the bridge when the collapse occurred, apparently vehicles driven there by the workers and later discovered in the water.
当局说，桥塌时桥上有几辆车，——也许是五辆，这显然是工人们驾驶的车辆。这些车后来在水中被发现。
U.S. President Joe Biden said at the White House that he would ask Congress for federal funding to rebuild the bridge and that he plans to visit the site soon.
美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在白宫说，他将请求国会提供联邦资金，重建桥梁，并计划很快访问现场。
“我们将重建这座港口，”他说。“我们将尽人力之所能尽快重建那座桥梁。”拜登说，那座港口支持着1.5万个就业岗位。
“We’re going to rebuild that port,” which he said supports 15,000 jobs. “We’re going to rebuild that bridge as soon as humanly possible.”
虽然阴谋论者在美国网站上就这起事件提出了各种有关邪恶势力的说法，但是拜登表示，没有理由怀疑这起事件与恐怖主义有关。
He said there was no reason to suspect terrorism in the incident, even as conspiracists offered nefarious theories about the cause of the incident on U.S. websites.
摩尔宣布了紧急状态。他说，马里兰州正“与跨机构团队合作，快速部署来自拜登行政当局的联邦资源”。
Moore declared a state of emergency and said the state is working “with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden administration.
巴尔的摩市长布兰登·斯科特(Brandon Scott)称货船撞桥事件是“难以想象的悲剧”。巴尔的摩警察局长理查德·沃利(Richard Worley)说，“没有迹象”显示这起事件是故意行为。
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the incident “an unthinkable tragedy.” Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said there is “no indication” the collision was intentional.
管理“大理号”的Synergy海事集团(Synergy Marine Group)发表声明说，所有船上人员，包括船上的两名领航员和20名船员的下落都已查明，未听说有船上人员受伤。
Synergy Marine Corporation, managers of the Dali, issued a statement saying that all its crew members, including the two pilots on board and 20 crew members, were accounted for and there were no reports of injuries on board the vessel.
弗朗西斯·斯科特·基大桥有47年历史，是巴尔的摩市的环城州际高速公路的一个主要环节。巴尔的摩有着美国最大的港口之一。拜登说，通常每天有3万辆车驶过这座桥梁。
The 47-year-old, 2.5-kilometer-long (1.5 miles) Francis Scott Key bridge is a major link in the interstate highway that circles the city of Baltimore, which has one of the largest ports in the United States. Biden said 30,000 vehicles crossed the bridge on a typical day.
这座大桥以《星条旗》(The Star Spangled Banner)的作者弗朗西斯·斯科特·基(Francis Scott Key)命名。1812年，英美两国爆发战争。1814年，弗朗西斯·斯科特·基亲眼目睹英军炮击巴尔的摩的美军要塞，他被守军的顽强所鼓舞，写下了《星条旗》这首诗。这首诗后来被谱上曲，最终成为美国的国歌。
The bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a poem later set to music to eventually become the U.S. national anthem.Key was inspired to write the poem after witnessing the British bombardment of a major U.S. military fort in Baltimore in 1814 during the war between the countries that began in 1812.
