Six construction workers who were patching potholes on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship are presumed dead and the search for them has been suspended, officials said Tuesday evening.
“Based on the length of time that has gone on in the search, the extensive search efforts that we’ve put into it, the water temperature, at this point we do not believe we are going to find any of these individuals still alive,” US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath told reporters.
The search will transition to a recovery operation from search-and-rescue, and divers will return to the water at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Maryland State Police Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. added.
“The last thing we want to do is put divers in the water with changing currents, low temperatures, very poor visibility, and so much metal and other unknown objects in the water,” he said.
The construction crew from Maryland-based Brawner Builders had been making repairs on the major Baltimore artery overnight when the container ship MV Dali rammed into the span, causing it to immediately topple.
Two people were rescued from the frigid Patapsco River early in the search, with only one hospitalized before being released later that afternoon. The other denied medical attention.
Several of the construction workers, who were repairing potholes overnight, had welcomed babies within the past year, according to one co-worker.
Six victims were reported missing in the chilly river as emergency officials conducted an extensive search-and-rescue operation, which included dive and rescue teams and the US Coast Guard.
“It’s a terrible, terrible, unforeseen tragedy,” executive vice president of Brawner Builders Jeffrey Pritzker told The Baltimore Sun of the workers who he said were “presumed dead.”
“None of us could have imagined this could happen. We are all kind of shocked and distressed.”
Sonar detected cars submerged in the water, which is about 50 feet deep. Officials were looking for seven cars in the chilly, 47-degree Fahrenheit river.
The Dali cargo ship issued a “mayday” warning that it lost power moments before the crash, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said, adding that the ship was still barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed.”
Still, the mayday call saved lives, Moore insisted, noting that quick-thinking authorities were then able to close off the vital, 1.6-mile-long bridge to additional traffic.
The ship was moving at 8 knots, which is about 9 mph when it struck the bridge, Moore said.
Horrifying video footage shows the bridge collapsing mere moments after the ship crashed into central support of the structure. The ship then caught fire, sending thick, black smoke across the busy harbor.
Video shows power on the ship flickering off, and then on again, shortly before the crash.
Two pilots aboard the ship, as well as 22 Indian crew members, “have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries,” said Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, the company operating the vessel.
The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
Synergy said it is investigating the cause of the disaster and cooperating with authorities.
“This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said from the scene soon after a state of emergency was declared. The FBI was also on the scene.
“Never would you think that you could see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie.”
All ship traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice, though the port remains open to trucks, officials said.
President Biden on Tuesday assured Americans he plans for the federal government to cover the entire cost of reconstructing the bridge, which serves as a major East Coast hub for shipping.
“We’re going to rebuild that port together,” Biden said.
The bridge, which opened in 1977, was named after the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
