Six missing people following the Baltimore bridge collapse yesterday are presumed dead, as workers who stopped cars going over it have been heralded as “heroes”.
The search for bodies was reportedly suspended on Wednesday morning, after The Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed yesterday after a collision with a cargo ship that lost power.
After the collision, the bridge collapsed with a number of vehicles travelling over it falling into the river below. Six people who are unaccounted for are presumed dead.
Maryland governor Wes Moore said with the ship barrelling towards the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed”, authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge.
“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
It was reported that two were rescued from the water.
Following the disaster, President Joe Biden took to X to say: “The Francis Scott Key Bridge is vital to our economy, and it’s vital to our quality of life. That’s why I’ve directed my team to work with Maryland and move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible. “
The bridge collapsed in a matter of seconds, captured in dramatic footage posted on social media.
Other clips showed the moment the vessel lost its power twice, and caught fire.
A senior executive at the company that employed the workers said they were presumed dead due to the water’s depth and the length of time since the crash, according to the Press Association.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the missing individuals, his crew, was working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.
“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers.”
Brandon Scott, mayor of Baltimore, which is in the state of Maryland, said: “Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that.
“It looked like something out of an action movie,” Mr Scott said, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy”.
With contribution from the Press Association