DUNDALK, Md. (CN) — Following the catastrophic collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge, first responders combing Baltimore’s Patapsco River said Tuesday that half a dozen people who were on the bridge when it went down have likely died.
The news came from Coast Guard officials after a full day of search and rescue efforts. First responders said that it was unlikely that any of the six people believed to be stranded in the river’s near-freezing temperatures would still be alive.
The Key Bridge, located just south of Baltimore, collapsed around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning after it was hit by a Singapore-flagged container ship known as the Dali. Video footage shows the more than 900-foot ship colliding with one of the bridge’s main supports, causing large portions of the span to collapse.
The 1.6-mile bridge, part of the heavily traveled I-95 corridor, carried as many as 35,000 vehicles daily and was a detour for hazardous materials not allowed in the Baltimore Harbor or Fort McHenry tunnels. The bridge also spanned a section of the Patapsco River that served as a major shipping corridor.
News about the collapse victims came just hours after Maryland Governor Wes Moore said rescuers were still hopeful the six missing people could be found.
“This is still very much an active search and rescue mission,” Moore had said during a news conference held less than a mile from the bridge’s tangled wreckage.
As the governor spoke, a Coast Guard Blackhawk wheeled overhead, scanning the river for survivors. Unmarked police SUVs whipped up and down the closed-off freeway.
First responders pulled two people from the wreckage in the morning — but officials said that there were at least six more missing, including members of a construction crew who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
The governor said it would be a “long road” to recovery, both for the families and communities affected by the tragedy and as to the financial and logistical impacts of the bridge’s collapse.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and members of Maryland’s congressional delegation, including Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, joined Moore.
Lauding the work of federal, state and local emergency responders, Cardin said that the operation should prioritize search and rescue efforts. After that, he added, officials should focus on reopening the Patapsco’s vital shipping lanes.
The Maryland Democrat also said Congress would need to have a hand in helping respond to the collapse, but that Senate leaders have expressed to him that they would back such efforts.
Buttigieg suggested that the bridge collapse could have a “protracted” effect on the U.S. supply chain.
During an earlier news conference, National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said that authorities had yet to verify the number of crew members still aboard the Dali or their status. She said the board members had not yet boarded the ship, opting instead to stand back and collect information while the search and rescue operation was ongoing.
“I know it’s not a lot of information for the first day,” she said, pointing out that the focus for rescuers is instead on the families and people affected by the tragedy.
“Everything else can wait,” said Homendy.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse Tuesday morning and the White House said he would be kept in the loop with developments.
In remarks before his departure to North Carolina, Biden said the Port of Baltimore was closed until the channel could be cleared of debris. The port saw the 17th-most business nationwide in 2021, handling more than 37 million tons of cargo and supporting more than 15,000 jobs.
“It’s one of the most important elements for the economy in the Northeast,” he said. “I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible.”
Although the company that owns the container ship could be at fault and have to pay damages, Biden said his plan is for the federal government to fully pay for the reconstruction rather than wait for an accident report.
Biden plans to visit the site “as quickly as I can.”
Buttigieg reiterated the president’s commitment to federally funding the bridge’s rebuilding. He also sought to tamp down questions about whether Americans should be concerned about the safety of critical infrastructure elsewhere in the U.S.
Buttigieg called Tuesday’s collapse a “unique circumstance,” suggesting that bridges are not designed to withstand the impact of a hulking cargo ship.
Questions remain about how the Dali, a 985-foot cargo vessel, collided with the Key Bridge. According to reports, the ship’s captain put out a distress call just before the collapse, which allowed authorities to halt some traffic before it reached the bridge.
Video clips published Tuesday morning show the Dali’s lights flicker on and off in the moments before impact, as if the ship had lost power. After it hit the bridge, it began to billow black smoke.
Homendy told reporters that the safety board was still collecting information about the circumstances leading up to the collision, saying only that the agency had received “conflicting information” about what happened.
She said more information will be made available in the coming days.
In the meantime, the Dali remains lodged in the bridge’s wreckage as responders continue recovery work.
The Key Bridge featured a steel truss design and was opened to the public in 1977. The span had a four-lane roadway and carried as many as 11 million vehicles every year across the Patapsco River.
Courthouse News reporter Nolan Stout contributed to this report.
Follow @BenjaminSWeiss
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