BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE LIVE UPDATESRecovery efforts to begin as 6 are presumed dead

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE History of Key Bridge Live updatesPhotos

NTSB releases close-up aerial footage of Key Bridge collapse

On March 26, the National Transportation Safety Board released drone footage of the scene after a container ship crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore. (Video: National Transportation Safety Board)

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE LIVE UPDATESRecovery efforts to begin as 6 are presumed dead

Authorities are aiming to recover the remains of at least six missing people who are presumed dead in the collapse of a major bridge in Baltimore after a search and rescue operation was suspended Tuesday. It was unclear whether there were more victims beyond eight members of a construction crew who were repairing masonry and potholes on the Francis Scott Key bridge when a massive container ship plowed into it, officials said; two were rescued. An urgent “mayday” call from the skyscraper-length ship Dali allowed first responders to shut down most of the traffic on the bridge, which carried more than 30,000 cars a day. Officials are investigating the incident but say they believe it was an accident.

Key updates

• Recovery effort to resume this morning
• Rescue operation ends with six presumed dead

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Here’s what to know

Among those presumed dead are Miguel Luna, a father of three from El Salvador, as well as a 26-year-old and 35-year-old from Guatemala. The Mexican consulate in the regionsaid late Tuesday that the six missing workers included people from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of the Maryland State Police, said Tuesday night it was a “distinct possibility” that motorists were also on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that they would also be presumed dead.

The Dali is a 985-foot Singapore-flagged vessel, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the collapse, and had just begun a 27-day journey to Sri Lanka when it hit the bridge.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge links Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties and was a major part of the Interstate 695 beltway. It was considered an engineering marvel when it was built in the 1970s.

Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore has been “suspended until further notice,” port officials announced Tuesday, and the Maryland State Highway Administration encouraged drivers to plan extra commuting time. The incident is expected to significantly disrupt East Coast shipping and intensify difficulties already affecting the global supply chain.

Rebuilding the bridge will take more than a year and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, experts say, describing the job as particularly complicated because it involves crossing deep water.

Washington Post