Rescuers have moved heaven and earth in the American city of Baltimore to find people swallowed up in the spectacular collapse of a bridge hit by a container ship in distress on Tuesday morning, without success.
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“The whole bridge just collapsed!” Start, start, anyone… everyone! » says an operator on local emergency radios, shortly before 1:30 a.m., in an audio recording made public.
He had just learned that the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is 2.6 km long and located southwest of Baltimore, had collapsed after being struck by a container ship called Dalí.
A vast rescue operation by air, on land, at sea and even underwater was deployed in this city in the state of Maryland, on the American East Coast, to find missing people. Six workers, who were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the tragedy, were still missing Tuesday evening.
Presumed dead
Photo AFP
They are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, the local media reported The Baltimore Banner.
One of these alleged victims is Miguel Luna, 49, a father of six from El Salvador, according to what his wife reported.
Two Guatemalans aged 26 and 35 are also among the missing, the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a press release on Tuesday evening.
“The bodies of the workers have not yet been found, but they are presumed dead due to the depth of the water and the time that has passed since the accident,” said Jeffrey Pritzker, vice -President and CEO of Brawner Builders.
- Listen to summaries of the latest events with journalist Alexandre Moranville via
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” I am very sad. May God grant that they are still alive, I don’t know how to say it, my heart is tight. They are human beings and my workmates,” said Jesus Campos, a construction worker on the bridge, still without news of several of his colleagues.
Two survivors
Photo AFP
Only two survivors were found after the collision, according to authorities. One person was taken to hospital in serious condition, while a second emerged miraculously unhurt from the accident, according to the Washington Post. Boats, helicopters, divers and sonar had been deployed all day to try to find the other survivors.
However, the US Coast Guard ended its rescue operation on Tuesday evening, CNN reported.
“We don’t think we can find any of these people still alive,” confirmed Shannon Gilreath, a rear admiral.
The Maryland State Police, for their part, temporarily removed their divers from the water due to the bad weather conditions expected last night.
In a few seconds
Photo AFP
Almost the entire infrastructure collapsed into the water within seconds, approximately 15 meters below, dragging vehicles and their occupants with it. It was not known Tuesday evening whether any drivers were trapped in their cars which fell when the bridge collapsed.
Container ship lights Dalí began flashing about an hour into its journey Tuesday morning. A port pilot and his assistant reported power problems and loss of propulsion before the accident, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Distress call
The crew aboard the Singapore-flagged container ship, who were not injured, managed to make a distress call to authorities about two minutes before the ship collided with the bridge, according to the BBC.
This “SOS” from the cargo ship heading to Sri Lanka helped reduce road traffic on the highway bridge and save lives, declared the governor of the State of Maryland.
“These people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Wes Moore said at a press briefing.
The ship was traveling at a “fast” speed of eight knots, or about 15 km/h, with a local pilot at the controls.
The crew of Indian origin had tried, unsuccessfully, to drop anchor to stop their container ship when it was facing electrical problems to explain its drift.
Foreign workers
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called it “an inconceivable tragedy.” The police rule out the theory of a terrorist act. An investigation was nevertheless opened to determine how the shock caused by this ship could have destroyed the metal bridge inaugurated in 1977.
Several families of the missing workers were waiting for news, reports NBC News.
“I am devastated. Devastated because our hearts are broken, because we don’t yet know how they were rescued. We are waiting for the news,” said Marian Del Carmen Castellon, wife of Miguel Luna.
– With Anouk Lebel and AFP
