Bridge investigation gains speed
Divers search for missing workers in Baltimore waters following collapse
BALTIMORE — Investigators began collecting evidence Wednesday from the cargo ship that plowed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused its collapse, while in the waters below divers searched through twisted metal for six construction workers who plunged into the harbour and were feared dead.
The investigation picked up speed as the Baltimore region reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that's part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port, which is vital to the city's shipping industry.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship and planned to recover information from its electronics and paperwork, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
The agency also is reviewing the voyage data recorder recovered by the coast guard and building a timeline of what led to the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.
The ship's crew issued a mayday call early Tuesday, saying they had lost power and the vessel's steering system just minutes before striking one of the bridge's columns.
At least eight people went into the water. Two were rescued, but the other six — part of a construction crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge — were missing and presumed dead.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the divers faced dangerous conditions.
“They are down there in darkness where they can literally see about a foot in front of them. They are trying to navigate mangled metal, and they're also in a place it is now presumed that people have lost their lives,” he said Wednesday.
Among the missing were people from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to diplomats from those countries. Three Mexicans were on the bridge. One was rescued, and two are missing, said Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The sudden loss of a major transportation link that loops around the city and carries 30,000 vehicles a day, and the disruption of a vital shipping port, will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters but also U.S. consumers who are likely to feel the impact of shipping delays.
Ship traffic entering and leaving the port has been suspended indefinitely.