the six missing people are presumed dead, the search is suspended

Two missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge, hit by a ship, have been found, but rescue teams had to suspend the search in the face of difficult weather conditions.

Hope is fading. The searches carried out around the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, which had collapsed the previous night after being hit by a container ship, were suspended by the American authorities on the evening of Tuesday March 26. The six missing people are now presumed dead.

“Based on the duration of the search carried out (…), the temperature of the water, at present we do not estimate that we will find these individuals still alive”Coast Guard Vice Admiral Shannon Gilreath said at a press conference. Two survivors were found, one of whom was seriously injured. The eight people initially reported missing are believed to be public works workers who were working on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed, with an official from their company telling the press that six of them were presumed dead. Essentially, they worked on “fix potholes”, “nothing to do with a structural problem”said Maryland’s transportation official.

Faced with difficult conditions, “the tide and currents which make the work of divers dangerous”, “we are going to suspend the active research phase”added Shannon Gilreath. “We are simply moving to a new phase” rescue, he added, with another official specifying that divers would be on site from the early hours of Wednesday.

Container ship data soon to be recovered

Jennifer Homendy, head of the US Transportation Safety Agency, told reporters from Baltimore that the container ship’s data recorders represented “a crucial piece of the investigation”, carried out with the coast guard. According to her, they should be collected on Wednesday “or maybe [mardi] evening”.

US President Joe Biden has already pledged that the bridge will be rebuilt, admitting it would take time, but has said he wants “that the federal state pays the entire cost of reconstruction”. Because the issue is economic: this four-lane bridge, 2.6 km long, is located on a north-south axis crucial for the economy of the east coast of the United States. And with access to the port blocked by debris from the bridge, maritime transport is “suspended until further notice”authorities said.