A shipping shipment crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing a near-total collapse of the span and halting the shipment of traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Six members of the structure’s staff are believed to have fallen from the collapsed bridge into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River. The bodies of two of the victims have been recovered so far, while four of them are still missing and presumed dead, authorities said.
Dali’s container shipment crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a. m. collapsed the bridge, Maryland officials said.
A local pilot was in command of the shipment at the time, Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said.
The accident appears to be accidental and unintentional, the government said.
Two workers on the structure were rescued and six disappeared immediately after the collapse, the government said. The bodies of two of the victims were recovered from the water Wednesday as part of ongoing search and recovery efforts, while four of them remain missing and presumed dead, authorities said.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge could cost as much as $4 billion, making the incident a record loss for marine insurance, according to Morningstar research cited in a new Department of Homeland Security assessment received via ABC News.
Lately, seven ships are anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Baltimore, according to the document. Two were directed to the ports.
Thursday’s dive operations will check the stability and structural integrity of the ship so crews can begin unloading the thirteen broken containers, according to the document.
Most of the dangerous fabrics are found in the back. Of the 4,700 vehicles involved on the ship, 56 are harmful goods, but according to the assessment there is no risk to the public.
Two involved fell overboard in the collision but involved hazardous materials, according to the document.
-Josh Margolin and Aaron Katersky of ABC News
One of the other people on the bridge just before the collapse heard a first responder’s voice asking him to leave quickly, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
“The first responders, who, again, acted heroically after the first call for help, needed to move to prevent more cars from reaching the bridge and to start informing staff and others on the bridge that they needed to move. bridge,” Moore said at a news conference Wednesday.
“One of the survivors that I was able to communicate with, one of the things he talked to me, was that when he left the bridge, and he literally saw the bridge collapse right after he left, it was because a first responder told him to leave the bridge,” Moore said.
That important notification was made “audibly,” other contact between first responders and staff would possibly have been made via a cellphone or radio, Moore said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg plans to meet with shippers and origin chain operators on Thursday to assess the industry’s impact.
Buttigieg said the assembly was aimed at helping DOT create a “coordinated approach” as it seeks to mitigate disruptions at one of the East Coast’s busiest ports.
“That said, the Port of Baltimore is a vital port,” Buttigieg said Wednesday at the White House. “So, for our supply chains and for all the staff who count on them for their revenue, we’re going to help open it up as temporarily as you can safely imagine. “
A hazmat investigator tested the container shipment and detected 56 boxes of hazardous materials, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said late Wednesday.
The 56 involved involve 764 tons of hazardous fabrics that come with “primarily corrosive, flammable, and diverse Class Nine hazardous fabrics, which would come with lithium-ion batteries,” Homendy said.
Some of the boxes of dangerous fabrics were “broken” and “reflections” were observed in the canal, something the state and local government are aware of and are investigating, he said.
Homendy said it was unclear how many harmful boxes were in the water after the incident.
According to the NTSB chairman, there were 23 other people aboard the Dali at the time of the collision, 21 crew members and two pilots.
At the briefing, Homedy stated that the knowledge registrars they have access to are critical compared to a publicity plane.
The ship’s voice recorder captured limited information, he said.
The U. S. Coast Guard The U. S. Department of Homeland Security provided the NTSB with six hours of information between 6 a. m. and 6 a. m. m. , Eastern time, and 6 a. m. , upon arrival.
Officials said Wednesday that the box’s audio quality “varies wildly” due to the peak of background noise, which will need to be filtered out for audio quality.
They hope to get 30 days of knowledge from knowledge registrars, he said.
Regarding the collision, the NTSB said that existing knowledge indicates a power cut, but they have not demonstrated this or the conceivable explanation as to why a power cut most likely occurred.
The owners and managers of the Singapore-flagged shipment, Dali, said all team members were discovered after the crash.
“All team members, the two pilots, have been recovered and no injuries have been reported,” Synergy Marine Group said in a statement.
The company said all 22 team members, including the drivers, were in India.
The 984-foot vessel is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, he said.
The reasons for the twist of fate “are yet to be determined,” he said.
-ABC News Jenny Wagnon Courts, Laura Romero and Kevin Shalvey