Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Crash: Live Updates

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said that their six missing employees are presumably dead because of the depth of the water and the amount of time that has passed since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reported.

A total of eight construction crew workers were on the bridge when it collapsed after being struck by a container vessel. Two people were rescued, one was uninjured and refused medical treatment, and another was taken to the hospital and released.

“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said, according to NBC News. “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. But we never foresaw that the bridge would collapse.”

Authorities have not announced any deaths and there have been no confirmed reports that the bodies of the remaining six people have been recovered.

Automakers General Motors and Ford will reroute shipments heading toward the Port of Baltimore as a result of the bridge collapse, according to multiple reports.

The port is recognized as the most prominent port in the country dedicated to auto shipping. Last year, 847,158 cars and light trucks were shipped through the port, setting a record for the 13th straight year, Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) said in a February press release."

"We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports," GM said, according to Reuters.

Similarly, Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told Bloomberg TV that the collapse would also impact Ford operations.

"We'll have to divert parts to other ports... It will probably lengthen the supply chain a bit," Lawler said. Ford has “already secured shipping alternatives," the company confirmed to Reuters.

Moreover, Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, is pushing for “an uninterrupted flow of vehicles” as a result of the incident, according to The New York Times.

Some automakers — including Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Group — stated that they do not expect to face significant issues in the aftermath of the collapse for various reasons, according to Reuters.

According to The New York Times, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW also use the port.

“The path to normalcy will not be easy,” Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. transportation secretary, said on the topic of rerouting, according to The New York Times. “It will not be quick, and it will not be inexpensive.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said authorities will focus on mitigating traffic surrounding the Patapsco River and impacts on supply chains following the bridge’s collapse, though he noted the job of rebuilding “will not be easy.”

“This is no ordinary bridge. This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure. It has been part of the skyline of this region for longer than many of us have been alive,” he said at a press conference alongside local officials. “The path to normalcy will not be easy, it will not be quick, it will not be inexpensive, but we will rebuild together."

Buttigieg said it’s too soon to offer estimates on what it will take to reopen the nearby Port of Baltimore, which had ship traffic suspended amid ongoing search and rescue efforts in the river.

The port generates “nearly $3.3 billion in total personal income and supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs connected to Port work,” according to a website for the state of Maryland.

The White House in a statement said President Biden "has directed his team to work around the clock to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible."

The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation into the bridge collapse is in its early stages and that the current priority is on search and rescue efforts, which outside organizations are overseeing.

“Nobody is going by a number,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Tuesday afternoon when asked how many people may still be missing in the water. “They are just looking and searching.”

Homendy said the NTSB is “standing back” to make room for the ongoing rescue efforts, and that they have not yet boarded the commercial vessel as they want to allow time for the search teams to complete their work.

“That is everyone’s main focus right now. The rest can wait,” she said.
A team of 24 NTSB personnel are meanwhile on the scene. They include experts in nautical operations, structural engineering, and highway safety, she said.

Workers at both ends of the bridge were able to stop vehicle traffic shortly before the collision after hearing the ship’s mayday call, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D).

“These people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Moore said at a press conference this morning.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) told The New York Times that while search and recovery operations were still ongoing, it did not appear that any commuter vehicles had fallen from the bridge, but rather only the missing construction workers and their vehicles.

U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), whose district includes the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Port of Baltimore, said his prayers are with the victims and those missing.

"The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is an unthinkable horror. We are all trying to respond accordingly,” he said in a statement. “Our prayers right now are for the missing individuals and victims of this tragedy. We thank God for the effective service of our first responders.”

President Joe Biden, speaking at a press conference from North Carolina on Tuesday, pledged federal funding to rebuild Key Bridge, clear the busy channel of debris and support port workers.

"Fifteen thousand jobs depend on that port, and we're gonna do everything we can to ... help those workers," he said, adding, "It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost to repair that bridge."

The president said he intends to visit Baltimore, and has already spoken to state and local officials to begin the process of rebuilding one of the nation's largest shipping hubs.

"We’re with you, and we’re gonna stay with you as long as it takes," he said. "You’re Maryland tough, you’re Baltimore strong, you’re gonna get through this and I promise we’re not leaving."

Danish shipping giant Maersk confirmed earlier that it had chartered the Dali ship. It said that the ship was carrying Maersk customers' cargo but had no staff from the company on board.

“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," the company said in a statement.

Maersk said the ship was being operated by charter company Synergy Marine Group. In its own statement, Synergy Marine said that the 22 crew aboard, including two pilots, were all accounted for and no injuries were reported.

The ship sent out a mayday call when it experienced a power cut prior to the crash, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said at a press conference. The call allowed officials to stop vehicles from entering the bridge before the crash, which likely saved lives.

The six people believed missing following the early morning collapse were members of a bridge construction crew, officials said at a press conference.

The crew was reportedly on the bridge repairing potholes. Their work had nothing to do with the structure of the bridge, which was up to code, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said alongside federal and state officials.
“The preliminary investigation points to an accident,” Moore said. “We haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terror attack.”

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the collapse of Key Bridge and the ongoing search and rescue efforts in Baltimore, according to the White House.
“He will continue to receive updates from his team throughout the day,” the White House said in a statement.