The lifeless bodies of two of the six wanted workers were recovered Wednesday from the icy waters of the port of Baltimore, on the American east coast, authorities announced, the day after the spectacular collapse of a bridge hit by a container ship . “Divers located a red pick-up truck at a depth of approximately 7.6 meters,” police in Maryland, the state where Baltimore is located, announced during a press briefing. “Two victims of the tragedy were prisoners of the vehicle.”
The recovered bodies were identified as those of two men aged 35 and 26, from Mexico and Guatemala, who were part of the team of workers present on the roadway of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the time of the accident . The bodies of four of their colleagues, all presumed dead, have not yet been found, the authorities added. But, due in particular to the amount of concrete and debris, “divers are no longer able to make their way safely” towards “what we believe to be the trapped vehicles”, declared Roland Butler, of the police of Maryland.
“Not designed to resist”
Rescuers will therefore seek to remove the structure from the water to facilitate access for divers, he said. The authorities warned Tuesday evening that they did not think they could “find these individuals still alive”, even though two members of their team had been rescued shortly after the tragedy. The victims, from Latin America according to the American press, were repairing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed into the Patapsco River.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday provided a detailed timeline of the tragedy, based on preliminary analysis of the container ship’s data recorder. 300 meters long and 48 meters wide, the Dali, flying the Singaporean flag, left the dock at the port of Baltimore on Tuesday at 12:39 a.m. (04:39 GMT) bound for Asia, said Marcel Muise, NTSB investigator, during a ‘a press conference. At 1:24 a.m. local time, alarms began to sound on board the ship, signaling propulsion problems. The pilot quickly informed port authorities by radio that the ship was heading towards the bridge, and requested the intervention of tugboats.
The call for help was also received by two teams from the local transport authority who were on the bridge due to the work. The latter then closed all traffic lanes, thus probably saving lives. Then, at 1:29 a.m., the ship’s recorder recorded “sounds consistent with the collision.” The bridge, used every day by tens of thousands of vehicles, then collapsed like a house of cards, with entire sections of the structure ending up on the boat. Impressive video surveillance images show the container ship veering off course, hitting a pile of the bridge inaugurated in 1977 and then collapsing.
For the American Minister of Transport Pete Buttigieg, “this type of bridge (…) was simply not designed to withstand a direct impact against an essential support pillar”. The crew had tried in vain to slow the ship’s course by dropping anchor. The preliminary investigation shows that it was an accident, according to the authorities.
“Cost of reconstruction”
President Joe Biden has pledged that “the federal government will pay the entire cost of rebuilding” the bridge, which bears the name of the author of the lyrics of the American national anthem, admitting that it would take time. “We will be alongside the residents of Baltimore as long as it takes,” he assured again Wednesday evening on the social network X. Because the issue is also economic: this four-lane bridge, 2 .6 km, is located on a crucial north-south axis for the economy of the East Coast of the United States.
For the moment, maritime transport is “suspended until further notice”, according to the authorities. The Port of Baltimore is the ninth largest in the country in terms of activity and generates more than 15,000 jobs. The Dali is “stable” and does not represent a danger for the environment and the public, despite the presence on board of 5.6 billion liters of diesel and a few containers of dangerous materials, assured Peter Gautier on Wednesday, responsible for the coast guard. Two containers, out of a total of 4,700, fell into the water.
The vessel is operated by shipping company Synergy Group and chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk. Singapore’s port authority said on Wednesday that it had passed two inspections in 2023 and that a faulty fuel pressure monitoring gauge was repaired in June. Chilean authorities reported a defect in the ship’s machinery in 2023, an anomaly that they said was quickly repaired.