Photo credit: Jim Watson
A cargo ship crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, causing a near-total collapse of the span and halting vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.
A search-and-rescue effort for six people believed to have fallen from the collapsing bridge into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River below has been suspended and will shift to a recovery mission, officials said.
What to know about the collapse
The container ship Dali struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, partially collapsing the bridge, officials in Maryland said.
A local pilot was at the helm of the ship at the time, Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said.
The crash appeared to be accidental, not intentional, officials said.
Two people were rescued from the Patapsco River and at least six people remain missing, officials said. Search and rescue efforts for the missing individuals were suspended Tuesday evening as operations shifted to a recovery phase, officials said.
Search and rescue efforts to be suspended, move to recovery operation: USCG
The Coast Guard said it is suspending the search and rescue efforts as of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the six missing individuals after the bridge collapse.
"Based on the length of time that we've gone in the search, the extensive search efforts that we put into it, the water temperature -- at this point, we do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive," Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath told reporters.
The conditions in the water, including low water temperatures and unpredictable currents, have made it dangerous for first responders, authorities said.
Authorities said they plan to conduct recovery efforts starting at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
"We're hoping to put divers in the water and begin a more detailed search to do our very best to recover those six missing people," Col. Roland Butler with the Maryland State Police said.
Carnival temporarily moving Baltimore operations to Norfolk
Carnival is temporarily moving its Baltimore operations to Norfolk, Virginia, amid the rescue and remediation efforts following the bridge collapse, the cruise line said Tuesday.
"Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore," Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement. "We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden today to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk."
The move impacts the Carnival Legend ship, which is scheduled to return from its current voyage on Sunday, the company said. The cruise will return to Norfolk with free bus service back to Baltimore, Carnival said.
EPA on standby, not aware of any concerns
The regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency is on standby to respond to the aftermath of the bridge collapse if needed but is not aware of any environmental concerns at this time, according to EPA Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs spokesman Shaun Egan.
