Baltimore bridge crash: 'racist' illustration of Indians slammed online

An illustration depicting the Baltimore bridge collapse is being slammed on X, with netizens describing the cartoon as racist.

The graphical representation shared on March 27 by an X handle called Foxford Comics showed men of Indian origin dressed only in loincloths preparing for the impending crash.

The graphic also had the audio of people swearing at each other with a strong Indian accent in English.

Many netizens slammed the racist depiction of Indians and also showed the tragic incident in a poor light.

"It's shameful that people are mocking Indian Crew for the tragic incident," an X user who goes by the name Pooka Sangwan said.

"This racist trash is one of the reasons that many Indians still don’t prefer the United States, apart from the cheap way in which your gun laws enable your citizens to dispose our brethren due to the same racist agenda without fear," another user said.

"I can’t believe that in 2024, someone would make light of such an unfortunate incident by exposing their small-mindedness and racialism to the world in such a non-humorous way!" the user added.

As many as 22 Indian crew onboard the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali died after it lost power and crashed into a concrete pier supporting the bridge on March 26.

Within seconds almost the entire bridge collapsed and plunged into what officials said was roughly 50 feet of frigid water below.

Biden praised the ship's crew, most of whom were Indians for their prompt Mayday call which prompted authorities to scramble to shut down traffic to the bridge, potentially saving lives.

Also read |