At a time when US President Joe Biden and Maryland Governor Wes Moore are praising the Indian crew on the ship that crashed with the famous Baltimore Bridge, an American webcomic has decided to publish a racist cartoon on the incident. Foxford Comics recently shared an illustrative photo of Indian crew members on the ship that crashed with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge resulting in at least 6 deaths. In the racist pic, Indians were shown wearing loincloths and in the background, a controversial audio was put up by Foxford Comics. As soon as Foxford Comics' racist pic went viral on social media, it started to face the ire of netizens on social media.
Foxford Comics shared the photo with the caption, "Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact". Notably, X (formerly Twitter) busted Foxford's racist photo and even exposed the webcomic's double standard. X fact-checked it and wrote, "There were 2 local US Pilots in the ship responsible for operating the ship. The 22 other crew members were of Indian origin and the ship is Singaporean-owned. "
Reacting to the US racist viral photo, a user wrote, "Indian Crew Members are Heroes : Governer Wes Moore. Undoubtedly Indian crew saved many lives: Joe Biden..Meanwhile Foxford Comics made a completely ridiculous, racist cartoon on Dali's Indian Crew.This is unacceptable. This @FoxfordComics handle must be withheld or suspend by X."
Another user wrote, "At last racism wins"
One more user wrote, "Despite the ship being steered by a local American, the heroism of the all-Indian crew during the Baltimore bridge incident is undeniable. This highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing systemic issues like racism. "
Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
The ship that hit the Baltimore Bridge was reportedly a Singaporean container vessel named Dali. In the Baltimore Bridge collapse video, it can be seen that Dali was trying to cross the river when it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. As per reports, Dali is 299.92m long and 48.2m wide and was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka.
Talking about the Baltimore Bridge, apart from being known as Francis Scott Key bridge, it was originally known as the Outer Harbor Crossing and extends over the Patapsco River. It is a 1.6-mile (2.5km), four-lane bridge. It serves as the outermost crossing of the Baltimore harbour and an essential link of Interstate-695, or the Baltimore Beltway.
An out-of-control cargo ship rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in six presumed fatalities on 26 March.
The Indian crew on the ship is receiving praise from US President Joe Biden, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and other prominent figures; yet, a “racist” cartoon that depicts the tragedy has sparked controversy.
US webcomic accused of making racist cartoon mocking Indian crew of ship behind Baltimore bridge collapse