Six presumed dead in Baltimore bridge tragedy

Authorities in Baltimore began to focus on expanding recovery efforts yesterday after a cargo ship slammed into a major bridge, causing it to collapse and leaving six people presumed dead.

All six were members of a construction crew repairing potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US East Coast city when the structure was sent careening into the Patapsco River.

A desperate search in near-freezing conditions managed to pull two people from the choppy waters, but after nearly 16 hours, officials said they had given up hope of rescuing the others.

"At this point we do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive," US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said.

Maryland Secretary of State Police Roland Butler said the focus would shift to a "recovery operation."

"We're hoping to put divers in the water and begin a more detailed search," he added.

One of the missing workers was father-of-three Miguel Luna, according to Casa, a nonprofit that serves immigrant communities. His wife, Maria del Carmen Castellon, said that she was "devastated" by the wait for any information.

Two of the other missing workers were from Guatemala, while local media reported that Mexican and Honduran nationals were also among the victims.

Footage of the collision showed packed container ship the Dali slamming into one of the bridge's supports, causing the 47-year-old structure to collapse. Officials stressed that there was no known connection to terrorism, and that the preliminary investigation indicated an accident.

The crew tried to avert disaster after their 985-foot ship lost power and began lurching toward the bridge.

"Just prior to the incident, the vessel, Dali, had experienced momentary loss of propulsion. As a result, it was unable to maintain the desired heading," said the maritime authority for Singapore, where the Dali is flagged.

The ship's management company, Synergy Marine, reported the crew "dropped anchors" in a last-ditch attempt to hold it back.

The bridge is used by about 34,000 vehicles every day and the port is directly responsible for more than 15,000 jobs.

US President Joe Biden pledged to get the port reopened and the bridge rebuilt.