Baltimore, 27 March

All six workers missing after a Baltimore bridge collapsed on Tuesday are presumed dead and the search for them has been suspended until Wednesday morning.

Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent for Maryland State Police, said Tuesday evening that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to one of search and recovery. He said divers would return to the site at 6am when challenging overnight conditions were expected to improve.

The six people unaccounted for were part of a construction crew repairing potholes on the bridge. Police had stopped traffic on the bridge just before the crash and said there is no evidence that anyone went into the water other than the workers.

Trade association director says ship's pilot tried to slow down

The pilot of the ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse tried to slow it down before the crash, the head of a trade association for maritime pilots said.

Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots' Association, said he has been in close contact with officials from the Association of Maryland Pilots who described to him what happened as the ship approached the bridge. He said when the ship was a few minutes out, it lost all power, including to its engines.

The pilot immediately ordered the rudder hard to port to keep the ship from turning right and ordered the port anchor be dropped, which it was, Diamond said. The pilot also contacted a dispatch office to get the bridge shut down.

Diamond said widely circulated images show the ship's lights turning off and then back on, sparking questions about whether the vessel had regained power. But, he said, the emergency generators that kicked in turned the lights back on but not the ship's propulsion.

Every foreign-flagged ship entering US waters must have a state-licensed pilot on board. Pilots board the ships before they enter local waterways and take “navigational control” of the ship, Diamond said, meaning they give orders for the ship's speed and direction. “These are among the most highly trained mariners in the world,” he said.

BUTTIGIEG THANKS FIRST RESPONDERS AND PAYS TRIBUTE TO COLLAPSED BRIDGE

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the path to rebuilding the collapsed Baltimore bridge won't be easy or quick. “This is no ordinary bridge. This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure,” he said at a news conference in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon. “It has been part of the skyline for this region for longer than many of us have been alive.”

Buttigieg thanked first responders, including those still in the water as he spoke, and offered comfort to those “who woke up today to the news that no one wants to receive.” “This is an excruciating day for several families,” he said. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he's spent time with the families of victims. “The strength of these families is absolutely remarkable,” he said.