Maryland governor vows to deploy all resources as search continues for six missing people after Baltimore bridge collapse – as it happened

We are wrapping up our minute-by-minute updates on the Baltimore bridge collapse for this evening, but will continue to share major news updates on our homepage.

• Six people remain missing in the wake of the bridge collapse, as state and national officials said a search and rescue mission by land, air and sea remained the top priority, and offered prayers and support to the families of the missing.

• Local news outlets reported that eight construction workers repairing potholes on the bridge were believed to have fallen into the water, and only two have been rescued so far. One person who was hospitalized following the collapse has been released from the hospital.

• The missing are “hard-working, humble men” from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. They are in their 30s and 40s and have spouses and children, another construction worker told the Baltimore Banner. Doctors from a local hospital trauma center said that it was unlikely that anyone could survive for multiple hours submerged in the harbor’s cold water.

• Joe Biden called the bridge collapse “a terrible accident”, pledged financial and logistical assistance to rebuild the bridge and highlighted the importance of Baltimore’s port to the local and national economies.

• The bridge collapse is expected to have a major and sustained impact on supply chains because of the importance of Baltimore’s harbor to international shipping routes.

• The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the bridge collapse.

• Maryland governor Wes Moore said quick action by officials as ship headed towards a collision with the bridge stopped additional vehicles from driving onto it, saving “innumerable” lives.

Wes Moore: quick action to stop additional cars going over bridge saved lives

Asked by reporters if there had been any vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed, Maryland governor Wes Moore said that was still under investigation.

But he said that “the quick work” of public and law enforcement officials to keep additional vehicles from driving onto the bridge as the collision unfolded “undoubtedly saved innumerable lives”.

There will be ‘major and protracted impact to supply chains’, says Buttigieg.

This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live coverage from Los Angeles.

At this afternoon’s press conference, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters that the bridge collapse would have a national impact, because of the amount of cargo that comes through Baltimore’s port.

“There is no question that this will be a major and protracted impact to supply chains,” Buttigieg said. “It’s too soon to offer estimates on what it will take to clear the channel and reopen the port.”

Maryland governor Wes Moore said that there are no new updates on the search and rescue effort.

Moore added that rescuers have deployed air, land, and sea methods to help search for survivors.

“There is not a single resource that we will hold off on deploying,” Moore said during the press conference.

“This is very much still a search and rescue mission,” he added.

Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, called Key Bridge one of the “cathedrals of American infrastructure”, during remarks at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

“This is no ordinary bridge. This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure … so the path to normalcy will not be easy. It will not be quick. It will not be inexpensive, but we will rebuild together.”

Buttigieg added that government officials will need to “render all of the support that is needed at the federal level”.

“The federal government will provide all of the support that [is needed] for as long as it takes,” he added.

A body has reportedly been recovered from the water as search and rescue efforts are ongoing following the Key Bridge collapse, CNN reported.

Phylicia Porter, a Baltimore city councilmember, told the network that she had heard a body was pulled from the water.

“We are hearing one body was found,” she said.

The US Coast Guard, which has been leading search efforts, has not confirmed that report.

Six people are still missing after the Key Bridge collapse as search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

Jesus Campos, a construction worker who reportedly knows those working on the bridge, told the Baltimore Banner that they are all men from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico.

Campos added that they are all in their 30s and 40s and have spouses and children.

“They are hard-working, humble men,” Campos said.

From Baltimore Banner reporter
Clara Longo de Freitas via X:

Homendy added that investigators are still working to verify if the ship lost power shortly before crashing with the Key Bridge.

On those reports, Homendy said:

We’ve heard the reports. We have been made aware of those same reports about there being a power outage. I’ve also seen statements, media releases from Singapore as well. It’s something that we take in, but something that we have to verify through our investigation that that was what was part of the contributing cause here. So too early to tell.

The NTSB will be “standing back” for the time being to allow the coastguard to continue its search and rescue.

“We chose not to board the vessel today to allow some time for the search and recovery which we did not want to interfere with,” Homendy said.

“That is first and foremost,” she said.

Homendy added that the NTSB has gathered some additional information on the accident that needs to be verified first before publication.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair, Jennifer Homendy, confirmed that the agency will investigate the Key Bridge collapse, she said during a press conference.

The agency arrived to the scene at 6.00am on Tuesday to investigate the crash.

The US Coast Guard is also assisting with the investigation, calling the relationship between the two agencies “cooperative”.

“I want to extend our deepest sympathies to those who have been affect by today’s events,” Homendy added.

Homendy declined to comment on any potential fatalities associated with the bridge collapse, but noted that a search and rescue is still under way.

Doctors with the the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center are speaking on possible injuries that victims of the Key Bridge collapse are facing.

The R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, which is apart of the University of Maryland medical system, received one patient who was injured. That person was released this afternoon.

While doctors did not speak on that specific patient’s injuries, they said that patients from the bridge collapse could face injuries from falling off the bridge.

“This is a very high bridge … the height alone [poses] a potentially lethal problem,” Dr David T Efron said during a press briefing.

Being trapped beneath metal or concrete could lead to a crushing injury.

Doctors added that patients also face the possibility of hypothermia. “[It] doesn’t take very long for someone to feel the effects of [the water’s] temperature,” Efron added.

On hypothermia, Efron added that being submerged for more than hour is “almost invariably not going to be survivable”.

The White House will also be monitoring how the Key Bridge collapse will disrupt domestic and global supply chains further, Reuters reported.

Officials have already warned that the collapsed bridge could have a significant impact on shipping out of the east coast.

The global supply chain has already faced major disruptions amid two global wars – one in Ukraine and in Gaza. The climate crisis and rising interest rates have also made shipping more expensive, costs that ultimately fall to consumers.

“This comes at a particularly difficult time,” said Bindiya Vakil, chief executive of supply chain management company Resilinc to the Washington Post. “With interest rates high, companies are looking to keep products moving.”

Read the full Washington Post article here (paywall).