Six missing victims in the Baltimore bridge collapse are presumed dead, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday evening as it suspended its search efforts.
“At this point, we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said at a news conference after the search was suspended at 7:30 p.m.
Search and recovery efforts for the victims’ remains will begin at 6 a.m. on Wednesday. The victims were part of a construction crew doing repairs on the bridge. Eight people were on the bridge when it collapsed and two of those individuals have been rescued from the Patapsco River, officials said. One of them was released from a nearby hospital this afternoon and the other did not suffer injuries.
Officials chose to suspend recovery efforts as metal bridge debris in the water and shipping containers hanging from the boat made the recovery efforts dangerous to perform in the dark.
“The changing conditions out there have made it dangerous for the first responders, the divers in the water,” Maryland State Police Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said, adding that officials are hoping to send divers out tomorrow to begin a “more detailed search to do our very best to recover those six missing people.”
The container ship that caused the collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge — part of Interstate 695 — early Tuesday morning issued a Mayday call indicating that it had lost power shortly before it struck the bridge’s piling, allowing state officials to close the bridge to traffic in a move that likely saved lives, Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott said at a press conference.
Horrifying video of the incident posted on social media shows the 948-foot-long cargo vessel Dali striking a pillar of the bridge around 1:30 a.m., causing the middle section of the 1.6 mile bridge to topple into the water below. The ship’s lights can be seen cycling on and off moments before it struck the bridge, indicating power issues.
“The ship issued a mayday loss of power. The workers on the bridge halted traffic right before impact. They saved lots of lives,” Scott said during the press conference.
The Dali is a Singapore-flagged container ship managed by Synergy Marine Group, according to LSEG ship tracking data reviewed by Reuters. The company said all of its crew members have been accounted for and there were no injuries. What caused the accident is yet to be determined.
The ship hit the bridge as it was heading into the Patapsco River after leaving the port of Baltimore. Maryland governor Wes Moore (D.) declared a state of emergency and said he is working with the Biden administration on deploying federal resources.
“I have declared a State of Emergency here in Maryland and we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration,” Moore stated. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has also declared a local state of emergency.
At a press conference, Moore said the bridge was “fully up to code” and did not have structural issues. Preliminary findings suggest the bridge collapse was an accident and there is no evidence of a terrorist attack.
Crew on the ship were able to issue a “mayday” before the collision, allowing authorities to prevent traffic from going onto the bridge, Moore said. Crew members notified authorities the ship lost power, Moore confirmed. A senior U.S. official told USA Today the ship lost power minutes before the collision.
President Joe Biden addressed the situation Tuesday afternoon and said the collision was an accident. He confirmed the crew members alerted Maryland authorities that they lost control of the ship before it hit the bridge.
“The search and rescue operation is our top priority. Ship traffic in the port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice and we’ll need to clear that channel before the ship traffic can resume,” Biden said. The Army corps of engineers is helping lead efforts to clear the channel.
“It is my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge and I expect the congress to support my effort,” Biden asserted. “This is going to take some time and the people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”
FBI personnel are on the scene but there is no reason to believe terrorism played a role in the bridge collapse. Coast Guard personnel are “actively involved” in search and rescue operations and there is no evidence to believe the crash was intentional, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration is restricting flights around the collapsed bridge to prevent helicopters and drones from interfering with search-and-rescue efforts. The bridge collision is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland transit authority said on X. Wiedefeld said state authorities are directing commuters to alternative transportation options. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged drivers in the area to follow local transportation guidance.
The bridge opened in 1977 and it is named after Francis Scott Key, the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” An estimated 11.3 million vehicles cross the bridge each year.
Data from ship-tracking service Marine Traffic shows at least 40 ships remain inside the Baltimore port and at least 30 other ships have signaled Baltimore as their destination. The insurers of the Dali container ship said the company is working with authorities to “establish the facts” surrounding the incident to ensure it is handled quickly.
The port of Baltimore is among the 20 biggest in the U.S. based on total tonnage, according to the Transportation Department. Shipping delays are expected to take place because of the bridge collapse.