Baltimore Bridge Collapse Sparks Outrage: Netizens Condemn Racist Cartoon Targeting Indian Crew of Cargo Ship Dali

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Sparks Outrage: Netizens slammed the cartoon that depicted Indian crew members onboard the ill-fated 'DALI' container ship, which collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Wednesday and caused the bridge to collapse, calling it racist, while others pointed out that a local American probably steered the ship.

In a cartoon produced by Foxford Comics, a US-based webcomic known for its politically incorrect content, Indian crew members were depicted in brownface, standing in a murky control room.

As the vessel approaches and collides with the bridge, they all wear loincloths and appear to be in shock.

"Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact," the Foxford Comics' cartoon was captioned on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

The Singapore-flagged ship 'Dali' had suffered a "power issue" and issued a distress call moments before the crash, officials said.

In addition to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, US President Joe Biden praised Dali's crew members for their quick-thinking and Mayday call.

Biden said that the crew "undoubtedly saved lives" by swiftly alerting transportation officials about losing control of the container ship. This had resulted in closing the bridge on time.

"These people saved lives last night," Maryland Governor Moore said.

A local pilot is likely to have been steering the ship at the time of the incident, according to Indian economist Sanjeev Sanyal.

According to the Indian economist, the Dali crew warned the authorities, which explains why the Baltimore bridge collapse resulted in relatively few casualties.

There have been hundreds of people who have criticised the viral illustration, which has garnered 4.1 million views and 1.8k comments on X.

The user who replied to Sanyal's post asked: "Why aren't you guys doing anything about this? Racism against Indians has skyrocketed recently.".

The judgment can be clouded by prejudice to the point where one ignores the fact that the Indian crew of the ship took immediate action to save lives and minimise the disaster's impact, which POTUS Biden acknowledged rightfully," responded a user.

“This racism-based mockery is in very poor taste," said one user. 

"In very bad taste! Also looks racist and bigoted. Some facts: Local Baltimore pilots were navigating the ship; Indians alerted/SOS local authorities to stop vehicular traffic on the bridge, saving so many lives!!!" another person responded.

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