Authorities in Baltimore, Maryland, confirmed that they’ve located the presence of multiple cars submerged in the water after the Baltimore bridge collapse, as a massive search and rescue effort attempts to find victims.
The Francis Scott Key bridge, a major thoroughfare, Maryland, collapsed on March 26 after it was struck by a cargo ship, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said in a news conference.
He confirmed that authorities had launched a major search and rescue effort to locate victims in the water. Wallace said the water is “current influenced.” He said that “we are battling darkness,” as divers move “closer to the debris field.”
Authorities have not yet released victim names as the search is still ongoing. The collapse occurred around 1:30 a.m. on March 26.
Here’s what’s known about the Baltimore bridge collapse victims:
It’s Believed at Least 7 People Are Missing, But There Could be More Baltimore Bridge Victims
In the news conference, Wallace said that the number of potential victims keeps changing, but as of the morning of March 26, authorities believe at least seven people are missing.
Kevin Cartwright, the spokesperson for Baltimore City Fire Department, told Reuters that as many as 20 people might be in the river as well as “numerous vehicles, and possibly a tractor-trailer or a vehicle as large as a tractor-trailer, (that) went into the river.”
“This is a mass-casualty, multi-agency event,” he said to Reuters. “This operation is going to extend for many days.”
Video showed the moment the cargo ship rammed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.
The ship struck the bridge at 1:30 a.m., causing a “catastrophic collapse,” Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld said in a later news conference.
Some of the Baltimore Bridge Collapse Victims Were People Who Were Working on the Bridge When It Collapsed, Authorities Said
There were people working on the bridge when it collapsed, Wiedefeld said.
“We know there were individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse working on the bridge, contractors for us,” Wiedefeld said.
Wallace said authorities believe that some of the victims fell into the water.
Wallace called the incident “a complete collapse of the Key bridge.”
“There were likely multiple people on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that, as a result, multiple people were on the water. we were able to remove two people from the water,” Wallace said.
There Are Cars Submerged in the Water
According to Wallace, authorities are still trying to determine how many cars were on the bridge when it collapsed, but he said there were cars present on the bridge and sonar has detected some submerged cars.
“Our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water,” Wallace said, describing a massive search and rescue operation.
He indicated that experts had not yet told authorities that they had reached a point where no one could survive.
The cause of the collision is not clear.
According to CNN, the cargo ship is “Singaporean-flagged.” Videos showed a possible power failure on the ship and then plumes of smoke rising from it.
2 People Were Rescued From the Water
At the time of the initial news conference, Wallace said that two people were pulled from the water and rescued, with one person not suffering injuries and the other being in “very serious condition” at a hospital.
He did not have details on those victims beyond that information.
In the same news conference, Mayor Brandon Scott called it an “unthinkable tragedy,” calling for prayers for the victims, their families, and all impacted.
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