Baltimore police: six missing in bridge collapse ‘presumed dead’

The search will continue on Wednesday with divers, the coast guard said. There were eight people on the bridge when a cargo ship rammed a pillar of the 2.6 kilometer long road bridge, causing much of it to collapse. Only two survivors were found, including one seriously injured.

The search for the missing continued all day and evening on Tuesday. Authorities believed that at least seven cars plunged into the river. Conditions for emergency services were tough, with rescuers reporting icy water and sharp metal debris beneath the water’s surface.

The collision at the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a road bridge southeast of the city of Baltimore, occurred around 1:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. Dutch time). Images show a cargo ship hitting one of the pillars, causing the structure to collapse. Then the road surface breaks in half and the bridge collapses into the water.

Almost immediately, emergency services deployed with boats and helicopters for a major search for possible victims. After a few hours, the fire brigade pulled two survivors out of the water. One of them was in critical condition and had to be transferred to a trauma center. The other was not injured.

According to the fire brigade, it may take some time before the search for victims is completed. Not only is the area in which the drowning people may be located large, but the weather conditions also make the work of emergency workers difficult. The temperature was around freezing on Tuesday morning. When the sun rises, the fire brigade hopes the search will become easier.

The ship that collided with the bridge in Baltimore was the container ship Dali, the owner confirmed to various American media. The three hundred meter long vessel was flying the flag of Singapore and was on its way to Sri Lanka. Although the ship was damaged, the crew members were unharmed.

The consequences of the bridge collapse are dire for the residents of the city of Baltimore. The more than 2.5 kilometer long road bridge, which was put into use in the late 1970s, connects the banks of the Patapsco River and is part of an important ring road in the city. Access to the Port of Baltimore has also been disrupted for the time being.

There have been concerns about the quality of American infrastructure for some time. At the end of 2021, President Joe Biden signed a new law that should enable billions in investments in buildings, roads and bridges, among other things, but this did not immediately catch up on the overdue maintenance. Biden called the new law “the ultimate blueprint for rebuilding America.”