A race to save as many as six people is underway Tuesday after officials said a cargo ship lost power and crashed into Baltimore‘s Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing part of the structure and sending a big chunk of the bridge, vehicles and workers into the harbor’s chilly water.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said a search and rescue effort is trying to find the drivers and construction crew members who were on the bridge when the container ship smacked into it at about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday.
Mr. Moore said the container ship’s distress call before it hit the structure allowed authorities to stop cars from using the bridge. The ship was having power problems moments before the crash, he said.
“These people are heroes,” Mr. Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary, said the six people who are known to have plunged into the harbor were all members of a road crew filling potholes on the bridge.
Two workers were pulled from the water shortly after the Sri Lankan-bound cargo ship rammed into one of the bridge supports.
SEE ALSO: Key Bridge collapse closes Baltimore’s busy economic artery to shipping traffic
One of the survivors was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being struck by a Singapore-flagged container ship, plunging multiple vehicles into the Patapsco River. Read more: https://t.co/B1QnHgo2UQ pic.twitter.com/eM6n7AzZZz
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 26, 2024
Mr. Moore said an investigation into how many drivers were on the partially destroyed bridge is ongoing. Rescue team sonars have picked up submerged cars in the water. The temperature in the river was 47 degrees Fahrenheit in the early hours, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“To the victims of this tragedy and their loved ones — all of our hearts are broken,” Mr. Moore said. “We feel your loss. We’re thinking of you and we will always be thinking of you.”
Officials have yet to confirm any fatalities from the crash.
SEE ALSO: Singapore sends team to help probe Baltimore bridge disaster; crew dropped anchor just before impact
The FBI said there were no signs the bridge collapse was an act of terrorism.
Ship traffic in and out of the harbor has been stopped as the rescue operation continues.
Dive teams are in the water to search the wreckage. They’re aided by U.S. Coast Guard boat crews and air teams, as well as emergency resources from the state and Baltimore.
“The conditions are difficult,” Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski told CNN. “We’re talking about a deep channel port. It’s 40, 50 feet of water, strong currents. The weather is windy, the water is cold. And so we certainly worry about those who are in the water, not to mention the fall from the bridge.”
Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace said earlier that more people could be missing as officials didn’t know how many vehicles went under following the collision.
Mr. Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott declared a state of emergency to concentrate local resources to the bridge site. About 31,000 vehicles each day use the bridge, which carries the Baltimore Beltway, Interstate 695, over the Patapsco River around Baltimore.
“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” Mr. Scott said at a predawn press conference. It’s “an unthinkable tragedy.”
Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that the “focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.”
He called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”
He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the river, a vital artery that with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.
Opened in 1977, the Key Bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Agencies received emergency calls at 1:30 a.m. reporting that a ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge, according to Mr. Cartwright. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.
From a vantage point near the entrance to the bridge, jagged remnants of its steel frame were visible protruding from the water, with the on-ramp ending where the span once began.
The ship is called Dali, according to Cartwright. A vessel by that name was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its final destination, according to the sites MarineTraffic and VesselFinder. The ship was flying under a Singapore flag, WTOP radio reported, citing Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew West from the Coast Guard in Baltimore.
In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.