Six workers missing, presumed dead after US bridge collapse

Six workers missing after a bridge collapsed in the eastern U.S. city of Baltimore on Tuesday are presumed dead, authorities said.

The workers, a team of eight maintenance crews, were filling potholes and patching concrete on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when a cargo ship struck one of the bridge’s two main support columns, causing the bridge to collapse. It flows into the Patapsco River.

Two of the workers were rescued, one was taken to a trauma center with serious injuries and the other was not injured. The divers spent much of the day searching for the other six workers in freezing water temperatures of about 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) before wrapping up their work before nightfall.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gillies told reporters late Tuesday that the Coast Guard was suspending search and rescue efforts, saying it was doubtful the six workers were still alive because of the age of the accident and the cold temperatures in the river.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the end of the rescue effort was “a heartbreaking end to a very challenging day.”

The governor said authorities at the federal, state and local levels will use all available resources to find the missing workers and provide relief to their families.

Guatemala’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Tuesday that two of the workers were Guatemalan nationals – a 26-year-old from the Peten region and a 35-year-old from the Chiquimulla region.

Governor Moore told reporters earlier Tuesday that the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali lost power shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore, one of the largest commercial ports in the United States. Moore said the crew issued a “mayday” or distress call shortly before the crash, which allowed transportation officials to quickly stop traffic along the interstate highway across the bridge.

“These people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” the governor said. The crew also dropped anchor in a vain attempt to avert disaster.

Video showed that a large section of the bridge quickly collapsed into the river after Dali collided with a support column. The ship is 48 meters wide and 300 meters long and is bound for Sri Lanka with a full cargo container.

Synergy Marine Corp, the manager of the Dali, issued a statement saying that all 20 crew members and two pilots on board were missing and there were no reports of injuries on board.

The New York Times reported that an inspection of the Dalí in a Chilean port last year found defects related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.” An inspection at the Port of San Antonio on June 27 noted problems involving gauges and thermometers. However, subsequent inspections did not reveal any defects.

CNN reports that investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board may board the Dali for the first time on Wednesday to recover the ship’s data recorders. Local, state and federal dive teams will begin underwater mapping of the incident area on Wednesday, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told the network.

Hours after the accident, U.S. President Joe Biden said at the White House that he would ask Congress for federal funds to rebuild the bridge. He plans to visit the site soon.

“We will rebuild that port,” which he said could provide 15,000 jobs. “We will rebuild the bridge as quickly as possible.”

The 47-year-old, 2.5-kilometer-long bridge is the main link on the interstate highway that loops around the city of Baltimore. Biden said that on a normal day, 30,000 cars cross the bridge.

All shipping to and from the Port of Baltimore has been suspended.

The bridge is named for Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a poem that was later set to music and eventually became the U.S. national anthem.
The poem was inspired to write after witnessing the British bombardment of the main American military fort in Baltimore in 1814 during the war that began in 1812.

Some information for this report comes from the Associated Press, Reuters, and AFP.