According to US authorities, it is assumed that the six construction workers who vanished after the 2.57 km-long Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore City collapsed due to impact from a container ship are dead. Additionally, US President Joe Biden expressed gratitude to the Indian crew members on board for being able to notify authorities when they lost control of their ship.
The three-kilometer-long Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is a section of a key highway, has left the ship wedged in debris.
Additionally, until Wednesday, search operations for the missing workers were put on hold. Eight persons are said to have been flung into the Patapsco River after the collapse, however the precise number is unknown. Two people have been rescued so far.
The bridge, a major route for motorists wishing to avoid downtown Baltimore between New York and Washington, fell on Tuesday at approximately 1.30 am (US local time) as a result of a collision with the container ship Dali, which was carrying 22 Indian crew members.
It is said that all of the Indian crew members—including the two pilots on board the cargo ship—are secure and safe. Prior to the crash, they had reported a “power issue” to the authorities.
Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. of the Maryland State Police informed reporters on Tuesday night that the search and rescue efforts had been put on hold until Wednesday morning (local time in the US). He stated that “search and recovery” would now be the focus of the activities, according to news agency.
He said the overnight conditions had proved to be challenging for the rescue workers and divers would return to the waters of River Patapsco at around 6 am on Wednesday (US local time) when conditions are expected to improve.
Maryland state Governor Wes Moore also confirmed the suspension of the rescue operations on social media, saying that the state police would “begin recovery in coordination with our partners” on Wednesday morning.
“Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. We will continue to work in partnership with leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that we can provide all those affected with the closure they deserve,” he said in a tweet.
According to Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, the company that hired the construction workers, one worker was hospitalised and the other six were assumed dead due to the level of the river water.
He added that the bridge collapse was “completely unforeseen” and that the crew was operating in the centre of the span at the time of the incident.
Within minutes of leaving the Baltimore port, the Singapore-flagged Dali container ship, carrying 22 Indian crew members, smashed onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to a news agency report. The cargo ship was sailing towards Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo.
The report said the ship had departed from the port, one of the largest shipping hubs in the US, at 1.04 am on Tuesday (US local time) and about 20 minutes later, the vessel approached the bridge. At this point of time, the ship appeared to have suffered a complete power loss, resulting in all the light of the vessel going off.
About a minute later, the lights flicker back on, but go dark again, with smoke emanating from an unknown part of the ship. At 1.27 am, the vessel collided with one of the piers of the bridge and a minute later, the roadway of Francis Scott Key Bridge began collapsing.
The lights on the ship were back on after the collision.
By 1.29 am, a majority of the bridge plunged into the waters and about 20 minutes later, the Baltimore City Police dispatched rescue units.
US President Joe Biden said that it was his “intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing” the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
In a video message on Tuesday evening, the President said that he expected Congress to “support my effort”.
“This is going to take some time. The people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them in every step of the way until the (Baltimore) port is reopened, and the bridge is rebuilt.”
According to a statement released by the White House, the President told the authorities in Maryland, including state Governor Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, that “we’re going to send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency… And we’re going to rebuild that port together”.
“Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel, as you all know and have reported. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,” he added.
When asked at a White House briefing on why the US federal government would pay for the repairs if the ship and its operator were to be blamed, Biden said, “That could be, but we’re not going to wait if that happened. We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and open.”
The President also said that he would visit Baltimore “as quickly as I can”.
The chief of the American Pilots’ Association, a trade association for maritime pilots, said the pilot of the Singapore-flagged container ship tried to slow down the vessel before it collided with the Baltimore bridge, the Press reported.
Association chief Clay Diamond said the ship suffered a complete power loss, including to its engines, adding that he remains in close contact. He further noted that when the lights of the ship came back on within a minute, it was due to the emergency generators and not the vessel’s propulsion.
Diamond also claimed that the ship’s pilot “immediately ordered the rudder hard to port to keep the ship from turning right and ordered the port anchor to be dropped”.
“The pilot also contacted a dispatch office to get the bridge shut down,” he added.
According to the Association head, every foreign-flagged vessel heading to the US must have a state-licensed pilot on board.
“Pilots board the ships before they enter the local waterways and take navigational control of the ship,” he said, adding that “these are among the most highly trained mariners in the world”.
The University of Maryland Medical Center’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Centre has released one of the victims of the bridge fall.
However, David Efron, the trauma center’s head, withheld information about the extent of the victim’s injuries. The Press stated that the person’s identity has not been revealed.
A coworker of the six construction workers who went missing claimed that the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed while they were taking a break.
Brawner Builders employee Jesus Campos said he remembered his six coworkers were working on the bridge as soon as a colleague told him about the tragedy.
“It is so hard for me to describe. I know that a month ago I was there, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass. Imagine knowing that it is falling. It is so hard, one would not know what to do,” the Press quoted Campos as saying.
