Six workers were presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbour, on Tuesday, after a cargo ship rammed into the structure.
The incident forced the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.
Rescue team suspended active search-and-rescue operations about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials said.
This is as dive teams faced increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters.
Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath, said there was no hope of finding the missing workers alive. This is due to the frigid water and the length of time since the accident.
State Police Colonel, Roland Butler, said authorities hoped to return divers to the water after sunrise on Wednesday. This is to enable them to recover the workers’ remains from the water.
The Singapore-flagged container vessel, Dali, heading out of Baltimore Harbour bound for Sri Lanka, ploughed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1.30 a.m. (0530 GMT).
A trestled section of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) span almost immediately crumpled into the icy water, sending vehicles and people into the river.
Rescuers pulled two survivors to safety. They took one of them to the hospital.
They and the six missing were part of a work crew, filling potholes on the road surface of the bridge, officials said.
Bigger Disaster Averted
The ship reported a power failure before impact, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse.
“By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes.
“They saved lives last night,” Maryland Governor, Wes Moore, said at a midday news briefing.
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“The bridge was up to code with no known structural issues,” Moore said.
There was no evidence of foul play, officials said.
Baltimore Mayor, Brandon Scott, described a scene of twisted metal shooting into the sky.
“It was something out of an action movie. It is something you never thought you’d see,” he said.
Video footage on social media showed the vessel slamming into the bridge in darkness, the headlights of vehicles visible on the span as it crashed into the water and the ship caught fire.
U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said the closure of one of the country’s busiest shipping lanes until further notice would have a “major and protracted impact on supply chains”.
The Port of Baltimore handles more automobile cargo than any other U.S. port – more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. Coast Guard responded quickly to the Mayday call.
He commended the fast action of Maryland transportation officials who closed the bridge before it was struck.
Biden promised to visit Baltimore, 40 miles (64 kilometres) away, as soon as possible and said he wanted the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge.
“I’m directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as possible,” Biden said.
The bridge, named for the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, opened in 1977. (Reuters)
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