Six presumed dead after US bridge collapse
Six people are presumed dead after a catastrophic bridge collapse in the US city of Baltimore, which has cut off a major port moving $122 billion in cargo each year.
Six construction workers are presumed dead after a catastrophic collapse of a bridge in the US city of Baltimore, which is also predicted to have major economic impacts.
A large section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after a cargo vessel slammed into a support structure about 1.30am on Tuesday local time.
Maryland Department of Transport Secretary Paul Wiedefeld confirmed eight construction workers were on the bridge at the time filling potholes.
An executive of the company the men worked for, Brawner Builders, told the Baltimore Sun newspaper six of those men are presumed dead: “It’s a terrible, terrible, unforeseen tragedy”.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath confirmed at a press conference the search had been called off, saying “we do not believe that we are going to find any of these individuals still alive”.
Two men were earlier rescued from the icy cold river after the central section of the 2.6km motorway bridge was destroyed in the state of Maryland, north of Washington DC.
Several vehicles were also found submerged in the Patapsco River, including one the workers were using at the time.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said it had been a “really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day”.
“We put every single asset possible — air, land and sea” to find the missing people, he told reporters on Tuesday evening US time.
“While even though we’re moving on now to a recovery mission, we’re still fully committed to making sure that we’re going to use every single asset to now bring a sense of closure to the families.”
Alongside the recovery efforts, officials are contemplating the economic impact of Baltimore’s port – a major hub of the nation’s supply chain – being cut off.
It is the US’ ninth biggest port for international cargo and a leading import and export site for cars, trucks, gypsum and sugar, moving an estimated US$80 billion (AU$122 billion) per year.
Baltimore’s port also leads farming and construction machinery trade, and is second for exporting coal.
“There is no question that this will be a major and protracted impact to supply chains,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
“It’s too soon to offer estimates on what it will take to clear the channel and reopen the port.”
The port supports more than 15,000 direct jobs and 139,000 roles in related services, according to the Maryland state government.
Maryland Senator Ben Cardin told the BBC the bridge collapse would have a “lasting impact” on the city and surrounding areas.
“The Port of Baltimore is basically shut down. The channel is blocked. The bridge is down. Traffic is terrible. The impact on our economy is going to be immense,” he said.
Body reportedly pulled from water
Baltimore city councillor Phylicia Porter told CNN she understood a body had been pulled from the water during a search and rescue operation led by the US Coast Guard.
“We are hearing one body was found,” she said.
A vigil for the six missing men was held at a church in Mount Olive, not far from the bridge.
Church leader Ako Walker told reporters the workers were believed to be members of Baltimore’s large Hispanic community.
CBS news reports a construction vehicle used by the missing workers has been located underwater. Emergency services have not yet been able to access the vehicle.
The new updates comes amid reports the container ship, Dali, radioed for help moments before the crash.
Local officials have labelled the disaster a “dire emergency”.
The bridge, which carried the I-695 Baltimore Beltway freeway, collapsed in a matter of seconds after being struck by the Singapore-flagged Dali ship at around 1.30am local time on Tuesday (4.30pm Wednesday AEDT).
It’s the second major incident the Dali has been involved in.
Two people were earlier rescued from the water, one was uninjured, the other was taken to hospital but has since been discharged. No one on the ship was hurt.
Water temperatures in the river were around 9C, cold enough for those who fell into the water to suffer hypothermia if not rescued quickly.
On Tuesday morning US time, divers entered the river to help in search and rescue efforts.
‘Terrible incident’: Biden, authorities weigh in on collapse
US President Joe Biden has said the collapse was a “terrible incident” and that he had travelled on it “many, many times”.
The bridge is on a key route between Mr Biden’s home state of Delaware and DC. Officials have said there is no reason to think it is anything other than an accident.
Cars that were driving along the bridge fell around 56 metres from the roadway.
Governor Moore insisted on Tuesday that the bridge was structurally sound.
“This will not be short,” he said.
“There’s going to be a long road as we talk about what does the future of this region, future of the area looks like.”
Ship ‘lost propulsion’
Astonishing footage captured the moment the Dali, which was headed for Sri Lanka, hit one of the pillars of the 1977 bridge sending it crashing into the river.
The ship was being steered out of the harbour by a local pilot, not by one of the Dali’s crew members, which is standard procedure.
The US’ ABC News has reported that the crew of the container ship notified the port that they had lost control just before the collision.
That led to frantic efforts to stop traffic entering the bridge.
It’s thought 90 seconds elapsed between the bridge being closed to vehicles and the collapse.
“They saved lots of lives,” Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott said of the bridge staff.
The sheer length of the bridge, however, meant some trucks and cars were still on it as it crumpled.
The ABC said that the US Government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency had issued a notice stating the Dali “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port and warned port authorities of a possible collision.
“The vessel notified Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an allusion with the bridge was possible,” the report said.
“The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”
Imagery from the site before the crash appears to show the ship losing electrical power twice with all its lights going off.
‘Dire emergency’
Baltimore City Fire Department communications chief Kevin Cartwright called the incident a “dire emergency.
Mr Cartwright added that emergency services were “trying to rescue and recover” people believed to have fallen into the water.
Five vehicles were found in the water including three cars, a cement truck and another vehicle.
Collapse ‘looked like an action movie’
Mayor Scott said the bridge collapse was an “unthinkable tragedy”.
“We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted, folks who we have to try to find,” he said.
“This is what our focus should be on right now, we’re going to continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy.”
He added that the scene of the bridge collapse “looked like an action movie”.
“Never would you think you would see the key bridge tumble down like this,” he said.
Second incident involving same ship
The Dali has been inspected 27 times since it was built in 2015, reported the New York Post, and during that period it has been given two “deficiency” notices.
One of those related to a serious incident in Belgium in 2016.
At the Port of Antwerp, the Dali’s stern swung around several times repeatedly hitting the port’s quay damaging the ship’s hull.
The ship was then detained by Belgian authorities.
It was given a “deficiency” notice due to the hull damage that was “impairing seaworthiness”.
‘This is so scary’
Locals in the area reported hearing a “loud thunder” sound as the incident occurred.
“The bridge is gone, holy hell,” Bobby Gattus said in a video shared by theBBC.
“I live nearby and I felt it,” one said on Facebook.
“It was like a loud thunder and everyone close is talking about it. Those poor people that lost their lives.
“I can’t imagine the fear they had. This is so scary and so sad.”
“This was wild,” another said.
“My fear is driving on bridges, and at night. The whole thing went down so fast.”
In 2023, an estimated 800,000 vehicles passed through the port, moving a record 1.3 million tons of imported cargo.
-With AFP
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