• The six disappeared early on Tuesday after a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse. Officials stated that the search is now a recovery operation.

Baltimore — Following a collision with a container ship, a significant Baltimore bridge fell like a house of cards early on Tuesday, crippling one of the busiest ports in the nation and taking six lives in the abyssal seas underneath.

By Tuesday night, attempts to locate and rescue the six people who were working on the bridge when it collapsed had evolved into a recovery mission, according to Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath.

It is our belief that none of these people will be found Still alive,” he stated, mentioning the temperature of the water and the amount of time that had elapsed since the ship crashed and brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1:30 a.m.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, had earlier said that one individual had survived. Their identities remained a secret.

Governor Wes Moore of Maryland voiced his grief when officials halted the active search for survivors earlier on Tuesday, despite the fact that a huge search was still underway. Moore expressed optimism that the missing individuals may be located.

After the active search was halted, he remarked, “Our hearts go out to the families.” “I cannot comprehend how painful today has been for these families, how terrible all of these hours have been have become for these parents.”
The families of the missing men, who had been waiting for information on their whereabouts for hours inside a convenience shop in Royal Farms next to the bridge entry, were dealt a devastating blow.

Get real-time updates on Baltimore Bridge.

The sad series of events started early on Tuesday when the 984-foot cargo ship Dali reported to authorities that it had lost power and sent out a mayday just before it struck a bridge support at a speed of 8 knots, or around 9 mph.

When rescuers used sonar to find at least five automobiles in the icy 50-foot-deep water—three passenger cars, a cement truck, and an additional vehicle of some kind—Moore proclaimed a state of emergency. Officials don’t think anyone was inside the automobiles.

Investigators quickly established that it was not a terrorist strike but rather an accident.

The ship was in another collision.

According to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace, two persons had already been pulled out of the water. He said that one was well and had declined medical attention. The other was receiving treatment in a trauma clinic after suffering severe injuries.

If people hadn’t blocked off the bridge and prevented additional cars from crossing after hearing the mayday, Moore said, more drivers may have found themselves in the water.

Moore declared, “These people are heroes.” “They prevented deaths.”
An accident occurred involving the Dali about eight years ago. It damaged the quay at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium in July 2016.
The accident was looked into by the nautical commission, but Tuesday’s specifics of the investigation remained unclear.

Synergy Group runs and oversees The Dali. The company issued a statement saying that two port pilots were in command at the time of the accident and that all 22 crew members were safely on board on Tuesday.

The Danish shipping behemoth Maersk, which hired the Dali, stated that with the Port of Baltimore blocked, it will be forced to divert its ships to other neighboring ports.

Moore said that the bridge was “fully up to code.” It spans the Patapsco River southeast of Baltimore and is around a mile and a half long. It carries Interstate 695.

Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transporting people and goods Safety Board, stated said a data recorder on board the ship could have new information, and that her department will oversee the probe.

“At this moment, our primary focus lies on the individuals and their families,” she continued. “Other matters can be addressed later.”

President Joe Biden has committed to reconstructing the bridge, with federal funds being allocated.

The president cautioned, “There will inevitably be delays. However, the people of Baltimore can rely on our steadfast support until the port is operational again and the bridge is reconstructed.”

Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, reiterated the president’s commitment during his speech in Baltimore.

He emphasized, “This bridge is far from ordinary. It stands as a symbol of American infrastructure excellence.”
Buttigieg cautioned, however, that repairing the bridge and reopening the port cost money and effort, and that supply chains may be impacted.

Based on data from the Maryland Port Administration, the Port of Baltimore, which ranks 11th in size in the United States, is the busiest port for automobile imports and exports, processing over 750,000 vehicles in 2023 alone.
Those whose livelihoods depend on the port would suffer the most, according to writer David Simon, a supporter of Baltimore who based his TV crime drama “The Wire” on the streets of the city he previously covered as a reporter. Simon issued this warning online.

“Thinking first of the people on the bridge,” was Simon’s writing on X. Still, images of a port city choked to death wander. Everyone who depends on ships to get in and out.”
An enormous container ship.
The Dali is a “post-Panamax” ship that is longer than four Boeing 747s when arranged nose to tail, measuring around 985 feet in length.
Timeline of the collision
The moment that the Dali struck a pillar and sent the bridge falling into the lake on Tuesday at 1:28 a.m. was recorded on dramatic footage. Just before to the walkout, vehicles and trucks were visible on the bridge on a webcast. The ship’s lights stayed on and it did not sink.

The Dali’s lights abruptly turned off four minutes before they turned back on, according to an investigator’s chronology. At 1:25 a.m., dense, black smoke started to billow from the ship’s chimney.

A minute later by 1:26 a.m, the ship appeared and turn. And in the moments before to it colliding with the assistance, the lights flickered once more.
The ship collided with the bridge as workmen were fixing concrete ducts, according to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

According to foreman James Krutzfeldt, at least seven workmen were pouring concrete to patch potholes in the pavement just above where the ship struck.

A complaint about a “motor vessel made impact with the bridge” had been received, the Coast Guard had previously stated, and it had identified the object as the containership Dali, which was traveling under the Singaporean flag and intended for Sri Lanka.
Bobby Haines, a Baltimore County resident in Dundalk, claimed to have felt the effects of the bridge fall from his adjacent home.

“This morning around 1:30, my entire residence jerked,” and I was panicking,” he remarked. “I imagined it was an earthquake, and finding that it was a bridge is extremely horrifying.”

Bridge workers’ families await developments

The construction workers’ families had been waiting for word on their loved ones earlier in the day.

Marian Del Carmen Castellon notified Telemundo that her 49-year-old spouse Miguel Luna was engaged in bridge maintenance.

She remarked, “They just tell us that we have to wait and that they are unable to provide us with information.”

“Despairing, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know how they have been rescued yet,” said Castellon We are only awaiting the announcement.”

Jesús Campos, a coworker of Luna’s, expressed his own disappointment.

“Seeing this breaks my heart.” what’s taking place. They are my people, and we are all human,” he remarked.

Campos stated to The Baltimore Banner that the males that go missing are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The search and rescue mission has concluded.

At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Coast Guard announced that it was stopping the active search and rescue operation.

At a press conference, Gilreath declared, “Coast Guard is not going away, and neither are any of our partners; we’re just going to transition into a different phase.”

Superintendent Roland L. Butler, Jr. of the Maryland State Police said that it was transitioning to a recovery effort. Divers now face risk due to shifting circumstances, he claimed.

Although Butler stated that they will “do our very best to recover those six missing people,” things start to get difficult. “I believe we can all imagine the increased challenge of extracting an individual from a straightforward automobile collision, given the inherent difficulty.” in that situation to do it In harsh weather conditions and amidst cold temperatures, submerged underwater, with severely restricted or a nonexistent visibility,” he stated saying.

Butler stated, “There’s a tremendous amount of debris in the water,” and it could take some time to remove all of the potential threats, including sharp metal.

“Ultimately, we had a long journey ahead of us.”

Constructed in 1977 and locally known as the Key Bridge, the building was eventually dubbed after the writer of the U.S. national song.

More over 8,500 feet, or 1.6 miles, make up the length of the bridge. With a primary span of 1,200 feet, it was one of The National Steel Bridge Alliance claims that when it was finished, it was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world.
The Maryland Transportation Authority estimates that 11.3 million cars cross the bridge annually, or about 31,000 vehicles every day.

The East Coast shipping sector, which employs over 15,000 people directly and generates over $3.3 billion annually, depends heavily on the river and the Port of Baltimore.

The state’s secretary of transportation stated that it is too soon to determine what Baltimore citizens should expect going forward.
“Undoubtedly, we’ve extended our outreach to several unique engineering firms, and it’s evident we’re facing a lengthy journey ahead,” remarked Wiedefeld.