Officials stopped traffic onto Baltimore Key Bridge before collapse: ‘These people are heroes’

Officers had been capable of cease the movement of visitors onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier than a large cargo ship crashed right into a help column, serving to to avoid wasting lives within the catastrophe, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore mentioned.

The container ship Dali issued a mayday name because it approached the 1.6-mile-long bridge at about eight knots, a “very fast velocity,” Moore mentioned. Following that notification, officers had been capable of stop extra automobiles from going onto the bridge earlier than the collapse, he mentioned.

“These individuals are heroes,” Moore advised reporters throughout a press briefing on Tuesday. “They saved lives final night time.”

After personnel on the ship alerted the Maryland Division of Transportation that they misplaced management of the vessel, native authorities had been capable of shut the bridge earlier than it was struck, “which undoubtedly saved lives,” President Joe Biden mentioned Tuesday throughout remarks on the catastrophe.

A overview of visitors cameras by Maryland transportation officers confirmed there have been “no autos transiting the bridge on the time of the incident,” in line with an inner U.S. Division of Homeland Safety briefing obtained by ABC Information.

The Singapore-flagged vessel struck the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. ET, inflicting the bridge to partially collapse, officers mentioned. Authorities mentioned a number of staff who had been a part of a upkeep group fixing potholes on the span went into the water, together with a number of autos.

Two staff had been rescued whereas six stay unaccounted for following the collapse, officers mentioned. Authorities had been working to find out how many individuals might have been concerned within the collapse, Moore mentioned.

“The factor we do know is that most of the autos had been stopped earlier than they received onto the bridge, which saved lives in a really, very heroic means,” he mentioned.

A search-and-rescue effort is underway, with divers and emergency personnel combing the realm for folks believed to have fallen from the collapsing bridge into the frigid water, officers mentioned.

“To the victims of this tragedy and their family members, all our hearts are damaged,” Moore mentioned. “Within the face of heartbreak, we come collectively, we embrace one another.”

Moore mentioned there was no credible proof that the crash concerned terrorism. He mentioned it seemed to be a tragic accident.

In line with a Coast Guard memo obtained by ABC Information, a harbor pilot and an assistant aboard the cargo ship reported the ability points that prompted a number of alarms on the bridge of the vessel and lack of propulsion.

The bridge is a part of Interstate 695 and crosses the Patapsco River, in Baltimore Harbor.

An estimated 30,000 autos crossed the bridge per day, in line with the Maryland Transportation Authority.

ABC Information’ Josh Margolin and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.