Six construction workers died in the collapse early this Tuesday of a gigantic bridge in the city of Baltimore (Maryland, USA) after a container ship lost control and collided with infrastructure.

The events occurred around 1:30 local time (5:30 GMT), when the ship Dali, flying the Singapore flag, suffered a power outage after leaving Baltimore Harbor and crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridgewhich collapsed in a matter of seconds.

America woke up shocked by the impressive images of the collapse, which circulated like wildfire on television and social networks. Eight employees of the construction company Brawner Builders, who were filling potholes on the bridge, They fell into the dark waters of the Patapsco River, of which only two could be rescued, one of them in serious condition.

A major tragedy was avoided

Singaporean company Synergy Group, which operates the ship, confirmed that none of the ship’s 22 crew members were injured. Before the collision, the container ship’s crew issued an emergency warning, allowing authorities to cut off vehicle traffic on the bridge and avoid a greater tragedy. The bridge, which owes its name to the poet Francis Scott Key, author of the lyrics of the American anthem, was 2.6 kilometers long and about 35,000 vehicles passed through it every day.

Search for survivors suspended

After a search against the clock that lasted almost all day, The United States Coast Guard declared the six missing workers dead and suspended them at 7:30 p.m. local time (23.30 GMT) the search for survivors.

“Based on the length of time we have been searching, the extensive search efforts we have put in, and the temperature of the water, We do not believe that we will find any of the individuals alive“Coast Guard Commander Shannon Gilreath explained in a press conference.

Authorities are now focusing on search for the bodies. Some boats will scour the area overnight, while divers will resume diving in the morning when visibility and temperature conditions improve.

So far the authorities They have only confirmed the Guatemalan nationality of two of the victims. This is a 26-year-old man from San Luis (Petén) and another 35-year-old man from Camotán (Chiquimula), announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala. Another victim would be Honduran Maynor Sauzo, as reported by his family to the NBC network, although the Government of Honduras has not yet confirmed it. The Mexican consulate is also trying to verify if there are Mexican citizens among the victims.

Economic impact and reconstruction

There is also an investigation underway into what happened, although the FBI announced from the beginning that There are no indications that it was a terrorist attack. In addition, the collapse of the bridge has indefinitely blocked access to the port of Baltimore, one of the most important in the United States in the Atlantic, which will hinder cargo and passenger traffic on the east coast of the country and anticipates severe economic consequences.

Immortalized in the television series ‘The Wire’, the bridge was inaugurated on March 23, 1977 and has been an economic pillar for the area since it was erected. For this reason, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, was quick to react and announced the reconstruction of the bridge as soon as possible. “I have ordered my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” the president declared in a message to the press at the White House.