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The search has resumed for the six missing construction workers who are now presumed dead following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on Tuesday.
A search and rescue mission for the six missing men, all construction workers, was called off on Tuesday night when Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding them alive due to the frigid water and the length of time since the accident.
The search and rescue operation, which resumed on Wednesday morning, has now shifted to a recovery mission.
It comes as fears over the economic and trade disruption caused by the bridge collapse mount.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge has long been a critical link for trucking and motor vehicles linking Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. It was also the busiest in the US for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.
Rep Carol Miller, who sits on the trade subcommittee, told Fox News the bridge collapse will “affect trade.” “I’m worried about the families and all of the inconvenience that will occur because the bridge is gone. It was such a good link,” she said.
Recap: How did the crash occur?
The Maryland Transportation Authority said that it is too early in the investigation to understand the full picture of what caused the collapse.
“It’s what we call a continuous structure every little piece is connected to another – and unfortunately it’s a catastrophic collapse,” they said.
Reports suggest that the Dali had “lost propulsion” as it left the port embarking on its journey, with crew notifying officials that they had lost control of the vessel, ABC reported, citing an unclassified intelligence report.
“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an collision with the bridge was possible,” ABC said, quoting the report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”
However, some have also questioned whether the structural integrity of the bridge itself was strong enough.
Julian Carter, a structural and civil engineering expert, earlier told Sky News that the structures of the bridge were “very weak” at certain points.
Fire officials said earlier that they do not have any information as to whether there was a problem with the 300-metre-long ship, and have not spoken to the pilot of the vessel yet.
Chief Wallace added that he could not confirm if there had been a fuel leakage from the cargo ship.
“We hope as the sun comes up, we will get a much better picture if we do have a fuel spill and what the impact has been so far,” he said.
Gov Moore said on Wednesday that it’s still unclear what caused the ship’s power to go out. “There needs to be accountability to make sure these things do not happen again and that we have a system in place to make sure they don’t,” he said at a press conference.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CBS News on Wednesday that the agency has the voyage data recorder, which can provide “a timeline” of the lead-up to the crash as early as later today. The instrument can also give insights into positioning of the vessel and power loss, she said.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that she’ll have data recorder today
The recorder will give officials a glimpse into what the crew was experiencing during the tragedy. Ms Homendy said she hopes to reporter the contents of the recorder on Wednesday.
Baltimore bridge collapse sparks trade disruption with unusable port – what economic impact will it have?
Around a dozen cargo ships were estimated to be stuck inside the port unable to leave as the bridge spans the only route in and out of the harbor where it is located. Another 30 small small cargo ships, tug boats and pleasure craft were also in the port, while about 40 heading for Baltimore were forced to divert
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said that a “main area of concern” was the livelihoods of port workers, telling a press conference on Wednesday that thousands of jobs could be affected by the incident.
Read more from Mike Bedigan,Tom Watling, and Alex Ross:
Brother of one of the victims said that officials didn’t have enough time to evacuate the men
Martin Suazo, the brother of Maynor Yassir Suazo, one of the men presumed dead in the tragedy, said officials did not have enough time to evacuate the men from the area due to the length of the bridge, according to Diario La Prensa, a Honduran outlet. He said officials only had about two minutes and 30 seconds to stop the flow of traffic in the area and his brother and coworkers became trapped.
He added that the Honduras Embassy in Washington DC is working with him to help bring his brother’s body back to the country once it’s recovered.
Baltimore bridge ship’s black box recovered as families of construction worker victims speak out
The Dali container vessel rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1.30am ET on 26 March after it lost power, causing the bridge to dramatically collapse.
Mystery swirls still around the cause of the incident, which propelled members of a construction crew — who were refilling potholes on the bridge at the time — into the Patapsco River, authorities said.
Read more below by Kelly Rissman:
Two construction workers presumed dead now identified
Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 37, was identified by his family as one of the construction workers who was on the bridge fixing potholes when it collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Mr Suazo Sandoval’s brother, Martin Suazo, told CNN his brother had lived in the United States for 18 years and was originally from Azacualpa in Honduras. He was a married father of an 18-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.
He added that his brother was also an entrepreneur who had started his own maintenance company.
Miguel Luna, a 49-year-old father of three from El Salvador who has called Maryland home for 19 years, is also among the six people missing.
Miguel Luna
“[We feel] devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know if they’ve rescued them yet. We’re just waiting to hear any news,’ his wife, Maria del Carmen Castellon told Telemundo 44.
The other victims have not been named, but Guatemala’s foreign ministry confirmed that two Guatemalan nationals are among those unaccounted for after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Those missing include a 26-year-old from San Luis, Peten, and a 35-year-old from Camotan, Chiquimula. The ministry did not name the men.
Multiple Mexican nationals are also missing, a Mexican Embassy official said, although it is not clear how many.
Watch: Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse: Aerial shots show devastation after ship crash
DC mayor called out for two word response to Baltimore bridge collapse
Ms Bowser’s bizarre response drew the ire of social media users, who slammed her for her choice of words.
Read more by Martha McHardy below:
Ship’s crew remain on board
The crew on board the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday morning remain on board, US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier confirmed.
“Crew is cooperating with what we need,” he said. “They remain on board and predominantly an Indian crew and one Sri Lankan crew member on board, but they’re still there and very much engaged in the dialogue and the investigation”.
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2024-03-27 20:40:51Z
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