Aerial view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after Tuesday.Photo:Tasos Katopodis/Getty
Tasos Katopodis/Getty
Six people are presumed dead after theFrancis Scott Key bridge collapsedin the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early hours of Tuesday morning, sending those on the bridge into the water. The collapse was quickly deemed a “mass casualty” incident.
“I’d like to announce tonight that based on the length of time that we’ve gone on this search, the extensive search efforts that we’ve put into it, the water temperature, at this point, we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” said Gilreath.
View of vessel striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
Emphasizing that the U.S. Coast Guard is “not going away,” he added, “We’re just going to transition to a different phase.” Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., Maryland State Police secretary, added that their mission has turned into a “recovery operation.”
Horrifying footageof the incident shows the ship colliding with one of the bridge’s large pillars, causing the structure to crumble.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld saideight workers were repairing potholeson the bridge when it collapsed.
View of Francis Scott Key Bridge after its collapse.Tasos Katopodis/Getty
Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace said two people were rescued from the water. One person was uninjured, while the other was transported to the hospital in a “very serious condition.”
Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace toldCNNthat five vehicles, including three passenger vehicles and a cement truck, were also found at the bottom of the river.
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Jesus Campostold PEOPLEin a Spanish-language interview that he worked with the six individuals who went missing after the collapse and described them as “good people.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said some quick thinking may have saved more lives, being that the ship was operating at “a very, very rapid speed” at the time of the crash.
View of steel frame sitting on top of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
The governor also said the cargo ship’s crew issued a “mayday” call after the freighter lost power prior to striking the bridge, giving officials time to “stop the flow of traffic so that more cars were not on the bridge.”
“Many of the vehicles were stopped before they got on the bridge, which saved lives,” Moore explained. “These people are heroes. They saved lives.”
source: people.com
