Rescue workers in Baltimore are searching for as many as seven people after a major bridge in the city’s port was struck by a container ship early Tuesday, officials said.
“It is an active search and rescue situation and the number of missing people could change,” the city’s fire chief said.
Two people have reportedly been pulled from the river. One was transported to a trauma unit and is in serious condition, while the other had not reportedly suffered any injuries.
However, at least seven people are still missing and sonar technology has detected that at least seven vehicles were also thrown off the bridge and submerged in the water, according to rescuers.
Officials say that rescue teams are working in harsh temperatures to try and find the missing people in the Patapsco River in an area 50 feet deep.
Video shows the collapse of the 1.6-mile-long, four-lane bridge after it was hit by the vessel. An official said that the conditions were unsafe for rescuers due to objects hanging from the structure, freezing conditions, and limited visibility.
The bridge extends over the Patapsco River and serves as the outermost crossing of the Baltimore harbor. It is an essential link to Interstate 695, or the Baltimore Beltway.
The Dali container ship is thought to have “lost propulsion” as it left Baltimore port, with the crew warning Maryland officials they had lost control of the almost 300-meter-long vessel and that a collision was possible.
The situation has been described as a “developing mass casualty incident,” and the governor of Maryland has declared a state of emergency as multiple agencies waded through cold waters in the darkness of the early hours, searching amid debris for those missing in the aftermath of the horrific collapse.
ALSO READ: Florida passes law limiting children’s access to social media
and then