At least six people were unaccounted for and presumed dead after a large cargo ship crashed into a pillar of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse.
A total of eight workers who were fixing potholes on the bridge fell into the Patapsco River below. Two people have since been rescued, officials said. A senior executive at the company that employed the workers said Tuesday afternoon that the missing men were presumed dead, the Associated Press reported.
The Coast Guard said it is suspending the search and rescue efforts as of 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday for the six missing individuals after the bridge collapse. Authorities said they plan to resume recovery efforts on Wednesday.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said the crash appears to be an accident, noting there was “no credible evidence of a terrorist attack.”
President Biden said he will travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can.” He said the federal government should pay to rebuild the bridge, and added that the Port of Baltimore — which halted vessel traffic amid the collapse — supports 15,000 jobs.
The 1.6-mile bridge, named after the poet who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,” spans a major thoroughfare of East Coast shipping. It’s also the entryway to the port, which is the largest port in the U.S. for specialized cargo like trucks, tractors and trailers.