Six people who went missing after a Baltimore bridge collapsed Tuesday are presumed to be dead, officials say.
Maryland authorities held a press conference Tuesday evening following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier that morning after a container ship reportedly lost power and hit the structure. Commander of the 5th Coast Guard District Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath stated that officials are suspending the active search and rescue for the missing people due to various aspects that are leading authorities to believe they are no longer still alive. (RELATED: Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Being Hit By Container Ship)
“I would like to announce tonight that based on the length of time that we have gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that we have put into it, the water temperature, that at this point we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” Gilreath stated. “So this evening, at about 7:30 p.m., we are going to suspend the active search and rescue efforts. The Coast Guard is not going away, none of our partners are going away, but we’re just going to transition to a different phase.”
Authorities stated that both dive teams and sonar technology were used in their search and rescue efforts, however, due to suspending the active search, operations have been ceased. Superintendent of state police, Col. Roland L. Butler confirmed that divers are expected to go back to attempt and recover the missing bodies Wednesday morning as low temperatures, poor visibility, changing currents, and unknown objects within the water are a concern.
Butler noted that authorities are currently not ruling out the possibility of an addition to the six missing people, however, there has been no evidence so far to suggest that. While authorities are unclear of where the bodies could be found so far, Butler stated that they would intend to give their “best effort to help these families find closure.”
The identities of the missing people have yet to be disclosed as the investigation is ongoing.