What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse
Two of the six people missing and presumed dead following the bridge collapse in Baltimore have been named.
Father-of-three Miguel Luna, 40, from El Salvador, was a member of the construction crew fixing potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge that fell into the water when it collapsed after being hit by a container ship. Casa, an immigrant services non-profit, confirmed that Luna had lived in Maryland for at least 19 years.
Another victim was named as construction worker Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, a Honduran citizen. His death was revealed by his brother to NBC News, saying the family had been notified of his disappearance a few hours after the bridge collapsed.
Officials called off a search and rescue operation on Tuesday night and said that those still missing were presumed dead. Two people were rescued after the cargo ship crashed into the bridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse.
The six missing people, who are employed by Brawner Builders, were unaccounted for after falling into the Patapsco River, and a rescue operation was launched. However, officials pulled dive teams off the search around 18 hours after they started, as conditions in the dark waters had become more risky.
Coastguard rear admiral Shannon Gilreath said that there was no hope of finding the missing six alive in the icy water, telling reporters: “We do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals alive.”
Read more: Live updates after Baltimore bridge collapse
Search divers are returning to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of the bridge on Wednesday. The black box recorder from the ship has been recovered, which will give authorities a better idea of exactly what caused the tragedy.
What we know
At about 1.30am local time, the Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after the Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, on its way to Sri Lanka, collided with part of the structure.
Video footage showed much of the 1.6 mile-long bridge collapsing following the impact of the cargo ship.
Maryland transportation secretary Paul Wiedefeld said that eight people, believed to be construction workers who were on the bridge repairing potholes when it collapsed, went into the water.
Six of those eight remain unaccounted for but presumed dead. Two were rescued, one of whom is in a critical condition in hospital, while the other was not injured. The six presumed to have died included workers from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, according to the Mexican Consulate in Washington.
Watch: Dali container ship crashes into Baltimore bridge
Maryland governor Wes Moore said the recovery of the victims was a “top priority”, adding that he “will devote every single resource to making sure that the families receive closure. Baltimore’s mayor Brandon Scott said on Wednesday morning that the work to recover the victims will be particularly dangerous due to bad weather and ”choppy waters”.
Moore said the ship was moving at a "very rapid speed" and issued a mayday alert before it hit the bridge, giving officials time to reach either side and stop vehicles from attempting to cross. The 948-foot ship had reported a loss of propulsion shortly before impact and dropped anchor to slow the vessel.
"These people are heroes, they saved lives last night," he said. "Many of the vehicles were stopped before they got on to the bridge, which saved lives."
He also vowed that the bridge would be rebuilt, and said a preliminary investigation "points to an accident" and that there was "no credible evidence of a terrorist attack".
The water temperature in the Baltimore harbour is reported to be lower than 10C.
Shipping company Synergy Marine Group, which owns the container ship, said its vessel had collided with a pillar of the bridge.
It said all of its 22 all-Indian crew, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.
Wiedefeld said a local pilot was in charge of the ship as they are more experienced in getting vessels in and out of the port.
The Dali was charted by Danish shipping giant Maersk, which said in a statement that it was "closely following" the situation. It said: "We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected."
Vice admiral Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the US Coast Guard, told a press conference they were trying to prevent pollution from the ship which was carrying more than 1.5m gallons of fuel oil and lube oil.
He added that 56 containers of hazardous materials were on the vessel, two of which went overboard, but stressed there was no "threat to the public from the materials onboard."
Secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg told reporters it was too soon to say when the port would reopen.
The Port of Baltimore handles more automobile freight than any other US port – more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data, as well as container and bulk cargo ranging from sugar to coal. US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said the closure of the port would have a "major and protracted impact to supply chains”.
President Joe Biden has pledged full federal support in response to the emergency.
What we don't know
While authorities have said that the missing six men are presumed dead. The search to find them is continuing.
Authorities had time to halt traffic on the bridge before the crash and attempted to warn workers on the bridge, an audio call has revealed. The bridge collapsed four seconds after it was struck by the container ship.
Loss of the bridge forced motorists onto two other congested harbour crossings – with daily commutes and regional traffic detours possibly going on for months or even years.
The Dali was previously involved in a minor incident when it hit a quay at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016 – no one was injured.
An inspection in 2023 carried out in Chile found "propulsion and auxiliary machinery" deficiencies on the vessel, according to data on the public Equasis website, which provides information on ships.
But Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement that the vessel passed two separate foreign-port inspections in June and September 2023. It said a faulty fuel pressure gauge was rectified before the vessel departed the port following its June 2023 inspection.
Where is Baltimore?
The city of Baltimore is in the state of Maryland on the US east coast, about 40 miles from the nation's capital, Washington DC.
Baltimore Port, or the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, is the largest in the US for specialised cargo, such as trucks and trailers.
About 800,000 vehicles passed through the port last year, moving 1.3 million tonnes of imported cargo.
The bridge carried more than 12.4 million vehicles in 2023, and almost 34,000 people travel across it each day.
It received a "fair" rating in its last safety inspection in May 2021, meaning that the bridge was deemed sound but had minor issues such as cracks.
