In a press conference Tuesday morning, Gov. Wes Moore said that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was up to code before the collapse.
A portion of the bridge collapsed around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, after being hit by a large container ship, sending people and vehicles into the water.
“We’re still in the process of investigating what exactly happened,” said Moore during the press conference. “The bridge was actually fully up to code.”
The ship’s crew sent out a mayday and notified authorities that they had lost power, with officials stopping cars from entering the bridge, according to Moore.
Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul J. Wiedefeld confirmed that search crews are currently searching for six individuals, with two rescued, and one in serious condition. A construction crew was on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
“The crew that was out there working was basically repairing potholes,” said Wiedefeld. “That had nothing to do with a structural issue at all, on the facility.”
The Coast Guard is actively searching for survivors, but it is currently unknown if more people were affected.
“Our response teams are doing everything in our power to rescue and recover the victims of this collapse, literally, as we speak,” said Moore. “We started coordinating immediately, after the Key Bridge collapse, we’ve been standing together every step of the way.”
William DelBagno, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office spoke at the press conference, saying that there is no indication of any ties to terrorism with the incident.
“The FBI has been part of this response from the beginning,” said DelBagno. “We will bring whatever resources that the FBI has to bear. We’ve already brought our crisis response, our victim services and just recently, our underwater search, evidence recovery teams are on site.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has pledged that he will do everything they can to very quickly release emergency response funds, according to Senator Chris Van Hollen.
“To the people of our state and the people of this great city, we’re with you, we love you, We will get through this together,” said Van Hollen.
To listen to the entire press conference, click here.
