Search efforts paused after 2 bodies found in Baltimore bridge collapse, focus turns to clearing debris
UPDATE:
BALTIMORE — The search for bodies was paused Wednesday as attention turned to clearing debris from the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and reopening the Port of Baltimore.
The bodies of two construction workers were recovered from a submerged truck Wednesday. Four people remain missing and are presumed dead, but divers can no longer operate around the mangled bridge debris that has encased submerged vehicles, officials said.
The span was struck by a cargo ship that had lost power shortly after it left the Port of Baltimore early Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Navy said it is mobilizing barges outfitted with heavy lift cranes to help clear the Patapsco River of debris. Three cranes with varying lift capacities and support vessels are expected to begin removing submerged portions of the bridge, but it’s unclear when they will arrive.
Reopening channel ‘essential’ for port
All vessel traffic in and out of the port was suspended in the wake of the collapse, but it has remained open for trucks.
The Army Corps of Engineers will assist the salvage effort so that the Patapsco River’s shipping lanes, the entry to the port, can reopen.
The port is the ninth busiest in the United States, according to Census data, and handled more than $80 billion in import-exports last year, the most in 20 years. It is also home to Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines.
Directly, the port supports 15,300 jobs, while another 140,000 in the area are related to port activities. The jobs provide a combined $3.3 billion in personal income, according to a CBS News report.
“The most urgent priority is to open the Port of Baltimore because it is essential to the livelihood of people here in Baltimore, in Maryland, and the economies across our country and around the world,” U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a press conference Wednesday.
Maryland lawmakers are drafting emergency legislation for income replacement to assist thousands of Port of Baltimore workers impacted by the disruption.
Four remain missing, presumed dead
Eight people, part of a construction crew filling potholes, were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two were rescued, two bodies have been recovered, and four remain missing.
So far, three of the victims have been identified:
- Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 35, originally from Honduras and who has been living in the U.S. for 20 years
- Miguel Luna, originally from El Salvador
- Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, originally from Guatemala
The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed two of the missing men were from Guatemala, according to a Tuesday evening news release.
Honduras’ Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio García told The Associated Press a Honduran citizen was missing, and the Mexican Embassy in Washington said there were Mexicans among the six as well.
The men are in their 30s and 40s and have spouses and children in Dundalk and Highlandtown, the Baltimore Banner reports.
Employer vows to help families
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Hunt Valley-based general contractor Brawner Builders, told CBS MoneyWatch the workers had company-sponsored life insurance, but declined to disclose details regarding the policies.
Brawner intends to offer financial assistance to the missing workers’ families as they cope with the sudden loss of income, Pritzker said, without providing additional details on the company’s plans.
“The company is doing everything possible to support the families and to counsel the families and to be with the families,” Pritzker said.
Separately, a GoFundMe campaign is aiming to raise $60,000 to help their survivors. Organized by the Latino Racial Justice Circle, an advocacy group that fights racial injustice, it raised more than $98,000 as of Thursday morning. Brawner Builders is linking to the GoFundMe on its website, directing people who wish to support the families to the fundraising effort.
Disaster in minutes
The National Transportation Safety Board said the Dali, the striking ship, left the terminal at the Port of Baltimore around 12:39 a.m. Tuesday.
By 1:24 a.m., alarms started going off that something was wrong. At 1:27 a.m., the pilot ordered crews to drop the anchor and called for tugs, telling officials the vessel lost power and was headed toward the bridge.
And just two minutes later, the massive cargo ship crashed into the bridge at 8 mph.
The NTSB said police had just 90 seconds from when they received distress calls to cut the bridge off to traffic and to try to get people off.
A police officer patrolling because of the work on the bridge tried to get the construction workers off before it was too late, according to officials.
The ship was carrying 56 containers of corrosive, flammable material and batteries, some of which were breached, according to NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy. She said one of the hazardous materials, sheen, which is used in paint, had leaked into the Patapsco River. The environmental impact is still unclear.
Replacing a critical bridge
The Francis Scott Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River and is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore’s Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, which connects Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The bridge was completed in 1977 after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. The 1.6-mile span was used by some 31,000 people per day and carried 11.5 million vehicles annually.
Maryland submitted a request to the federal government for emergency relief funds to rebuild the Key Bridge and reopen the port, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Weidefeld said Wednesday.
“We intend to receive some federal dollars quickly and then we will start with the design for the replacement of the bridge to the port and get the community back up and running,” he said.
President Biden said Wednesday that he intends to push the federal government to pay entirely for the replacement bridge, and pledged to work with Maryland leaders to provide as much support as possible.
Senator Van Hollen said it was too early to put a price tag on the new bridge, but he called on Congress to work together to provide resources quickly.
“This is an American challenge,” Van Hollen said. “We are a great American city here in Baltimore. We are hoping all of our colleagues come together and join us in making sure we rebuild the bridge.”
SEE PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after being struck by cargo ship; search and rescue underway
March 26, 2024
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after a support column was hit by a large container ship that had lost power, sending vehicles and people into the Patapsco River, authorities said.
Six people remain unaccounted for, Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said in a mid-morning news conference. All six were part of a construction crew that was filling potholes on the bridge at the time, Wiedefeld said. Two other workers were rescued from the water.
Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told reporters the scene was “an active search and rescue.” The Coast Guard was taking part.
WATCH LIVE: Authorities provide an update on the partial collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by a cargo ship.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 26, 2024
One of the rescued workers was unhurt but the other is being treated at the University of Maryland Medical Center and has been unable to speak to investigators so far, officials said. The worker being treated is in serious condition.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency, saying in a statement that “we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration. We are thankful for the brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone’s safety.”
Aerial view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, after it was struck by a cargo ship and partly collapsed on March 26, 2024.CBS NEWS BALTIMORE
Earlier, the fire department told CBS News that at about 1:30 a.m., 911 calls started coming in saying a vessel had hit a bridge column. It was unclear how many vehicles were on the span but “there was surely a large tractor-trailer” on it.
The department’s communications director, Kevin Cartwright, described the collapse as “a mass casualty event.” He told The Associated Press it was a “dire emergency” and some cargo was apparently dangling from the bridge.
The ship — the Singapore-flagged Dali — was operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group and was chartered by Maersk, carrying Maersk customers’ cargo, the companies said.
Officials have confirmed that the ship lost power right before the collision. Moore said that the crew notified authorities of a “power issue.” It’s unclear what caused that power issue.
Officials said in a news conference that a mayday had been issued before the collision, which allowed officials to stop traffic onto the bridge. Officials did not clarify how many vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Infrared video showed that vehicles did enter the water, but it’s not clear if those vehicles had occupants. Multiple vehicles remained in the river as of mid-morning.
Moore said that the decision to stop traffic onto the bridge “saved lives last night.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CBS News that the mayday call “saved many lives” and allowed emergency personnel to get to the scene quickly.
Wiedefeld said that the FBI was on the scene “to see if there was any terrorism connection, which there is not.”
William DelBagno, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office, said at a subsequent news conference that “there is no specific or credible information to suggest that there are ties to terrorism in this incident.” DelBagno said the FBI was providing resources, including underwater search and evidence response teams.
The National Transportation Security Board said Tuesday morning that it was dispatching a team to investigate the incident.
“An unthinkable tragedy”
The Baltimore mayor headed to the scene and told reporters at a morning briefing that the collapse was “an unthinkable tragedy.”
“We have to first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted, those families, pray for our first responders and thank them,” Scott said.
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support, causing the center span to collapse, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. STEVE RUARK / AP
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said on social media: “Rescue efforts are underway. Please pray for those impacted.”
A witness told CBS News Baltimore the sound of the collapse was massive, shaking his home.
“Earthquake — sounded like a big bash of thunder,” the resident said. “And then just like I said it felt like an earthquake, the whole house vibrated. Like my house was falling down.”
The man said he never thought in his “wildest dreams” he would see something like this happen.
File photo of the vessel Zhen Hua 13, carrying four giant shipping cranes for delivery and installation at the Port of Baltimore, passes under the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in June 2012. PATRICK SEMANSKY / AP
Shipping in and out of the Port of Baltimore has been halted. Moore said that it was too early to estimate how long it would take to rebuild the bridge or for shipping to resume.
“Our exclusive focus is on saving lives. Our exclusive focus is on search and rescue,” he said.
Location of the Key Bridge in Baltimore
The Francis Scott Key Bridge spans the Patapsco River, a key waterway that serves with the Port of Baltimore as a hub for East Coast shipping. CBS News Baltimore reports that the 1.6-mile span was used by some 31,000 people a day and was four lanes wide.
All traffic to the port has been halted. According to census data, the Port of Baltimore handled more than $80 billion in imports and exports in 2023, marking a 20-year record.
The bridge was named after the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was opened in 1977.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said all lanes were closed in both directions on I-695. Traffic was being detoured to I-95 and I-895.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on social media that he’s “spoken with Gov. Moore and Mayor Scott to offer USDOT’s support following the vessel strike and collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge. Rescue efforts remain underway and drivers in the Baltimore area should follow local responder guidance on detours and response.”
