The Pelican Island Bridge in Texas found itself at the center of a dramatic scene on Wednesday when a large barge collided with it, causing significant damage.

Despite the intensity of the collision, authorities indicated that there were no reports of injuries. Galveston County Judge Mark Henry stated that although two crew members went overboard during the incident, they were promptly rescued from the water.

One of the concerning outcomes of the collision was the spillage of oil from the barge, which has a capacity of 30,000 gallons. However, the exact quantity of oil released into the water remains uncertain.

Video footage from the scene depicted debris from the bridge strewn across the barge, with part of the rail tracks resting atop it. The cause of the barge striking the bridge was not immediately evident.

Situated north of Galveston, Pelican Island is connected to the city via the bridge, serving as the sole land route to access the island. As a precautionary measure, officials closed the bridge to traffic in both directions following the incident.

Texas A&M University at Galveston, located on Pelican Island, reported a temporary power outage, which has since been rectified. The university, an ocean-focused branch campus of Texas A&M University, remains operational despite the disruption.

This incident comes in the wake of the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, approximately six weeks earlier. In that calamity, a container ship bound for Sri Lanka struck the bridge, resulting in its collapse into the Baltimore harbor and claiming the lives of six construction workers.

These recent events underscore the susceptibility of bridges to collisions, with a series of incidents involving barges and bridges further highlighting this vulnerability. Notably, just last Thursday, a barge collided with the Fort Madison Bridge in Iowa before sinking in the Mississippi River. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the collision occurred when one of 15 barges being moved by a tug boat became loose and struck the nearly century-old bridge.

Moreover, last month in Pittsburgh, more than two dozen river barges broke free from their moorings and drifted down the Ohio River, resulting in a collision with a bridge that had been preemptively closed. The incident also caused damage to a nearby marina before some of the barges were either pinned to the riverbank or swept over a downstream dam.