Six road construction crew members on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore, in Maryland, which collapsed on Tuesday after a cargo ship crashed into one of its pillars on Tuesday morning after it reportedly lost power, are presumed dead.
Shipping company Maersk, which had chartered the Singapore-flagged container ship named ‘Dali’, has also confirmed that it was manned by a crew of 22 Indians. They were safe and unharmed.
Clay Diamond, executive director and general counsel of the American Pilots Association says the pilot of the ship did everything possible to slow the ship after it lost power. He was the one who took all appropriate steps to prevent the crash and contacted the pilot dispatch office to shut down traffic to the bridge, Diamond added.
But the manoeuvres did not work because it happened so quickly, he said.
Of the eight workers believed to be on the bridge when it collapsed, two were rescued and hospitalised. One of them has been discharged from the hospital.
Dramatic footage emerged online of the bridge collapsing after the ship closed in and smashed into one of its columns.
About 18 hours after the bridge collapse Maryland governor Wes Moore said it was a “heartbreaking conclusion” to end the search-and-rescue operations for the six people who were on the bridge when it collapsed.
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