Baltimore Key Bridge collapse updates: Two bodies of workers recovered

The pilot of the cargo freighter that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said citing audio from the ship’s “black box” data recorder.

In a first indication of distress to harbour officials, the pilot was heard calling for tugboat assistance several minutes before the crash, followed by a radio report that the ship had lost all power and was approaching the bridge, NTSB officials said at a news briefing last night.

Video footage showed the ship’s lights winking off briefly, then back on momentarily before the vessel’s lights went out again.

Safety board chief Jennifer Homendy said recorder data was “consistent with a power outage” but that an actual blackout had yet to be confirmed.

The recorder also picked up commands to the crew to drop anchor, presumably aimed at slowing the vessel.

On Wednesday afternoon the bodies of two individuals were recovered from the Patapsco river.

They were also named by Superintendent Roland L Butler of the Maryland Department of State Police as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk. Both were construction workers.

One of the indivduals was identified by a drivers license in his pocket, and the other by a fingerprint, Sup. Butler said.

The families of the two individuals have been informed. Four men remain missing.

As the cargo ship Dali drifted out of control and towards Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday morning, emergency radio chatter captured from open-source recordings show details of last-minute efforts to save lives.

“Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering,” someone is heard saying over a police radio.

While voices were heard discussing next steps, including alerting any work crews to leave the bridge, one broke through to say: “The whole bridge just fell down!” The audio was carried by the public streaming service Broadcastify.

Of the ship’s 4,700 cargo containers, two containers went overboard during the crash but they did not contain hazardous materials, US Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said at a White House briefing.

The ship was carrying more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil, he added.

The Dali cargo ship and containers on its bow remain unstable, making it almost impossible to deploy people to the vessel, Baltimore city fire chief James Wallace said.

“It’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible, and very dangerous, to place people on the bow of that boat right now,” he told CNN.

The fire chief added that officials are still “very cognisant” of the presence of hazardous materials on board the vessel.

At least 56 containers on the ship that rammed into Francis Scott Key Bridge were carrying hazardous materials, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The Baltimore Fire department is relying on aerial reconnaissance, including drones, as the “only way to see in”.

Aerial surveillance, Mr Wallace, said has “been able to really assure us right now we have no [chemical] reactions on board”.

The construction workers who went missing in the Baltimore bridge collapse all hailed from Mexico or Central America before they settled in the Maryland area.

Police managed to close bridge traffic seconds before a cargo ship slammed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s supports early Tuesday, causing the span to fall into the frigid Patapsco River. There wasn’t time for a maintenance crew filling potholes on the span to get to safety.

The governments of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras confirmed that their citizens were among the missing.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 39, was the youngest of eight siblings from Azacualpa, a rural mountainous area in northwestern Honduras along the border with Guatemala.

Maryland State Police Secretary Colonel Roland L Butler Jr said that the mission has now transitioned into a salvage effort, citing dangerous concerns around the area where the remaining vehicles and bodies are located. Mr Butler said that the search stopped around 4pm.

The remaining area was encased by the structure. No additional vehicles are in the water, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said.

“Based upon the conditions we’re now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation because of the super structure surrounding the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris, divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate around that”, Mr Butler said. “Divers are no longer able able to safely navigate or operate around that. We’ve exhausted all search efforts”.

Still, he said, once the debris has been recovered, divers would continue searching for the bodies to bring the families of the victims closure.

Rebuidling the Baltimore Key Bridge after its collapse is “not a small feat” and will take “years”, a professor of structural engineering has said.

Professor Leroy Gardner told Sky News: “Phase one is the search and rescue. They will then be looking to clear the route for ships to use the port.

“Designing a new structure is not a small feat. It is a big structure and not many teams can design that sort of thing.

Six construction workers who were on the bridge as it tumbled into the water are presumed dead.

The incident happened after a cargo ship crashed into the structure in the early hours of Tuesday morning (26 March).

Rescuers have suspended the search for six individuals who are presumed dead after falling into the water after a container ship collided with Baltimore’s Key Bridge.

Two survivors have so far been pulled from the river. One was transported to a trauma unit and is in a serious condition, while the other had not reportedly suffered any injuries.

Here’s a recap of what we know so far::