Carnage: Over 60 shipping boxes crash into Pacific from cargo ship off California - video goes viral

Just before 9 am at the Port of Long Beach near Los Angeles, a shocking accident happened when shipping containers started falling into the ocean. The cargo vessel Mississippi was docked at Terminal G when the big metal boxes began toppling into the water, as reported by Los Angeles Times.

This happened while crews were getting ready to unload the ship. Videos from the scene showed containers tumbling overboard like falling Jenga blocks, creating chaos. Some containers hit the water with huge force, leaving them smashed, bent, and twisted, as per the report by The Sun.

Cargo ship accident in California

The Mississippi, which had last docked in China two weeks ago, was seen leaning dangerously to one side. KTLA footage showed the massive vessel heavily tilted, adding to the panic. Some of the containers fell on the STAX 2, an anti-pollution ship sitting next to the Mississippi.

The STAX 2, normally used to capture emissions, was badly hit by the crashing containers. A tugboat rushed in and tried hard to push drifting containers back toward the pier. ABC 7 video revealed disturbing sights – shoes and clothes floating among the wreckage, as stated by The Sun.

Long Beach port shipping disaster

Though a mammoth 67 containers crashed into the Pacific Ocean, reports said that no major injuries were reported. The area was immediately cordoned off by the workers and all work was put to a halt. The U.S. Coast Guard quickly joined the emergency response. Officials created a 500-yard safety zone around the ship, as per the NBC Los Angeles.

The Coast guard helicopter was constantly keeping a check on the chaos that ensued post the crash—hovering about workers using pressure hoes to control the drifting of containers in order to insure minimal damage. The cause of the collapse is not yet known and is still being investigated. It’s also unclear how this might impact global shipping routes, as per the report by The Sun.

The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest in the world, moving 9 million containers from 2,000 ships each year. It handles a quarter of all West Coast containers, and 40% of U.S. trade passes through Long Beach and nearby Los Angeles.

FAQs

Q1. How many containers fell from the cargo ship in Long Beach?
About 67 shipping containers fell into the Pacific Ocean from the vessel Mississippi at the Port of Long Beach.

Q2. Was anyone hurt in the Long Beach cargo ship accident?
No, officials confirmed that nobody was injured when the containers crashed into the water.