6 Workers Presumed Dead After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the US Eastern Seaboard, Andy Sullivan, Joseph Campbell and Gabriella Borter reported for Reuters.

Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding the missing workers alive due to the frigid water and the length of time elapsed since the accident. I Photo: NTSB

With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, US Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials said.

Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding the missing workers alive due to the frigid water and the length of time elapsed since the accident.

State Police Colonel Roland Butler said authorities hoped to return divers to the water after sunrise on Wednesday in an effort to recover the workers' remains. 

The Singapore-flagged container vessel named Dali, heading out of Baltimore Harbor bound for Sri Lanka, plowed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River at about 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).

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