Recovery efforts are underway as divers plunge back into Patapsco River Wednesday morning with hopes of recovering the bodies of six construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship rammed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.
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Recovery efforts are underway as divers plunge back into Patapsco River Wednesday morning with hopes of recovering the bodies of six construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning when a powerless cargo ship rammed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search and recovery operation for the workers at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, saying that due to the amount of time that had elapsed since the initial collapse and the cold water temperatures, they did not expect to find any of the workers alive.
Even though the operation has shifted away from search and rescue, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday morning there’s still a sense of urgency in the recovery mission.
“The top priority for me right now is still the recovery, we’ve got to bring these families closure,” Moore said Wednesday.
The governor ordered that Maryland flags be flown at half-staff until further notice to honor the victims.
The divers have already been back in the water searching for hours, Moore said just before 8:30 a.m.
“I can’t stress enough the heroism of these folks,” Moore said. “They are in frigid conditions, they are down there in darkness where they can literally see about a foot in front of them. They are trying to navigate mangled metal. And they’re also in a place that it is now presumed that people have lost their lives.”
More Key Bridge collapse coverage:
Reports came in around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday that a large vessel had crashed into a column in the central part of the bridge that carries north and southbound lanes of Interstate 695. It’s not clear what caused the actual crash, but the ship’s crew notified authorities of a power issue through a mayday call before it struck the bridge.
Sound of first responders from Broadcastify/AP
Radio communication between emergency responders illustrates how police had roughly 90 seconds to cut off traffic on the bridge before it crumbled.
The officers can be heard discussing how traffic must be stopped to make sure no one is on the bridge because a ship lost control of its steering. They mention the construction crew.
Around a minute into the recording, the vessel struck the bridge and a destructive scene immediately unfolded.
“The whole bridge just fell down,” one officer said. “Start, start whoever, everybody … the whole bridge just collapsed.”
Because of the warning, Moore said port authority workers were able to stop traffic and prevent more vehicles from traveling onto the bridge.
“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
Two other workers were rescued, with one of them remaining in serious condition as of Tuesday night, Moore said. The other was uninjured. Their crew was repairing potholes on the bridge when the container ship crashed into it, Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, said.
Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks.
Among the missing were people from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to diplomats from those countries.
Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland confirmed that two of the missing were Guatemalan citizens working on the bridge
Three Mexicans were on the bridge. One was rescued, and two are missing, said Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Honduran man was identified as Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval by that country’s deputy foreign affairs minister.
While U.S. authorities have not named any of the construction workers, a Maryland-based immigrant rights group said one of its longtime members is among those who are presumed dead. In a news release, CASA said Miguel Luna, from El Salvador was missing.
The group said Luna was “a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years.”
Maryland State Police said there is no evidence anyone went into the water, other than the workers, but they haven’t discounted the possibility.
Synergy Marine Group, manages the ship, which is called Dali. In a news release the group said one crew member who was injured on the vessel was taken to the hospital and later discharged. All other crew members along with the two pilots are safe.
The management group also said its emergency response team is in Baltimore, “to support the ongoing efforts to ensure crew safety, maintain vessel integrity and facilitate the swift and safe reopening of the waterway.”
Investigators board ship
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and the agency’s chair Jennifer Homendy said she believes a small team briefly boarded the ship Tuesday night.
“The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Moore said.
Investigators had previously held off on boarding the ship earlier in the day to make room for the Coast Guard’s search efforts, she said.
The U.S. Coast Guard was able to get the voyage data recorder off the ship, Homendy told WTOP.
NTSB was able to download the recorder and send it off to a lab, she said.
“That will give us help, give us a lot of information about the vessel and the operation of the vessel,” Homendy said. “It will begin to develop a timeline of events for us of what led to the striking of the bridge.”
A larger group of investigators is expected to board the ship Wednesday in search of indicators that could point to what went wrong onboard, Homendy said. That gathering of evidence will include collecting electronic information like logs as well as documenting information about the vessel and the bridge.
While she said officials’ highest priority is the recovery effort for the construction workers, NTSB is also working to collect evidence while the wreckage is still in place.
“This will get cleaned up and moved very quickly at some point, and that all of that evidence would be gone,” she said, adding that it’s “utter devastation.”
Major shipping hub shut down to vessel traffic
Baltimore’s Key Bridge was built in 1977 and named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that, along with the Port of Baltimore, is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.
Ship traffic entering and leaving the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice. Maryland Congressman David Trone was told in a briefing the port’s closure will cost the economy at least $15 million a day, according to a statement from his office.
The crash will disrupt the country’s shipping industry and undoubtedly create headaches for commuters who reply on the bridge.
President Joe Biden said the federal government should pay for rebuilding the bridge, and Moore said he’s discussing his legislative options to speed up the recovery with Maryland’s General Assembly and the Biden administration.
“We know that this is going to have to be all hands on deck when we’re talking about the long-term recovery and for what it’s going to mean, not just for elements of the Key Bridge, but all the other elements that this has impacted,” Moore said.
Trone, who is a member of the house appropriations committee, echoed that it will be a team effort to rebuild.
“Right now at the federal level, we’re actively exploring the use of ‘quick release’ emergency relief funds in partnership with Secretary Buttigieg and the urgent deployment of Congressionally approved funding,” Trone wrote in a statement Wednesday.
In 2023, the port handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo. Moore said the harbor is responsible for $191 million of economic activity daily.
“For everybody who was buying cars, for everybody who was buying farm equipment, we’re the largest port in the country that does that,” he said Wednesday morning while speaking with reporters. “This is not just impacting Maryland.”
Moore said he’s “overwhelmed” by the amount of support from fellow governors, philanthropists and others looking to help.
“Maryland, we really appreciate the love that’s been coming from around the country and the support,” Moore said. “I tell them, the people who need it most of these families>”
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Jessica Kronzer
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