Current:Home > MarketsNTSB says police had 90 seconds to stop traffic, get people off Key Bridge before it collapsed -AssetTrainer
NTSB says police had 90 seconds to stop traffic, get people off Key Bridge before it collapsed
View
Date:2025-04-24 12:50:09
BALTIMORE - The National Transportation Safety Board provided a broader look Wednesday night into its investigation of the cargo ship hitting Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its deadly collapse.
Officials said police had just 90 seconds early Tuesday from when they received distress calls to cut the bridge off to traffic and to try to get people off.
A police officer who was already in the area patrolling because of the work on the bridge tried to get construction workers off before it was too late, according to officials.
Twenty-one members and two pilots were onboard DALI, a 948-foot vessel managed by Synergy Marine Group, a Singapore-based company with over 660 ships under management around the world, according to its website.
The vessel had 56 containers — 764 tons — of corrosive, flammable material and batteries, according to NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, adding that some of the containers were breached. One of the hazardous materials was sheen, which is used in paint, that has leaked into the Patapsco River.
NTSB officials are updating media on the investigation. They say 21 crew members plus 2 pilots on board. 56 containers on board with hazardous materials, some of those containers were breached. @wjz pic.twitter.com/oUevpuMlsj
— Kelsey Kushner (@KelseyKushnerTV) March 28, 2024
"That's 764 tons of hazardous materials, mostly corrosive, flammables, Class 8 hazardous materials, which includes lithium-ion batteries," Homendy said. "Some of those containers were breached."
Disaster in minutes
NTSB says DALI left the terminal at the Port of Baltimore around 12:39 a.m.
By 1:24 a.m., alarms started going off that something was wrong.
NTSB investigators onboard the Dali. #KeyBridgeCollapse @wjz pic.twitter.com/c6NLbJMp27
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) March 28, 2024
At 1:27 a.m., the pilot ordered crews to drop the anchor and called for tugs, telling officials the boat lost power and was headed toward the bridge.
And just two minutes later, the massive cargo ship crashed into the bridge at 8 mph, sending eight construction workers who were filling potholes plunging into the cold water along with Baltimore's iconic bridge. Officials said they were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Four remain missing
Two people were rescued soon after the collapse — one was uninjured and the other was hospitalized and later released.
Divers recovered two bodies from a pickup truck Wednesday morning.
Officials said the search for the remaining four has moved from a recovery mission to a salvage effort because they believe vehicles are encased in the bridge debris and divers can't operate around the debris.
The bridge itself "is fractural critical," Homendy said. "What that means is if a member fails that would likely cause a portion of or the entire bridge to collapse; there's no redundancy."
Essential port blocked off
The collapse has halted the flow of ships in and out of Baltimore's port and cut off nearly every dock in Baltimore from the global shipping industry.
"The national economy and the global economy depends on the Port of Baltimore," Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference early Wednesday evening.
Moore said the state has submitted a request asking for federal funds to assist in rebuilding the bridge, but the cost and timeline is still unknown.
"The task in front of us, it will be real, it will be daunting, but our resolve is unshaken," Moore said.
Kelsey KushnerKelsey Kushner joined the WJZ team in January 2019.
Twitter FacebookveryGood! (4)
Related
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- 'He will kill again': With Rachel Morin's killer still at large, Maryland officials sound alarm
- Over 2,000 people feared dead after flooding in Libya, official says
- Police warn that escapee Danelo Cavalcante is armed. He has avoided searchers for nearly two weeks
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Joe Jonas tells fans he's had a 'crazy week' after filing for divorce from Sophie Turner
- 3 Key Things About Social Security That Most Americans Get Dead Wrong
- McCarthy juggles government shutdown and potential Biden impeachment inquiry as House returns
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Rescue teams retrieve hundreds of bodies in Derna, one of the Libyan cities devastated by floods
Ranking
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Cash bail disproportionately impacts communities of color. Illinois is the first state to abolish it
- It’s Google versus the US in the biggest antitrust trial in decades
- Twinkies are sold — J.M. Smucker scoops up Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- US sets record for expensive weather disasters in a year -- with four months yet to go
- Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker denies sexually harassing Brenda Tracy
- A Tanzanian opposition leader was arrested briefly amid human rights concerns
Recommendation
Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
How Paul Walker's Family Plans to Honor Him on What Would've Been His 50th Birthday
Cyberattack shuts down IT systems at MGM hotels in Las Vegas
Jamie Lee Curtis' house from 'Halloween' is up for sale in California for $1.8 million
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
UK government may ban American XL bully dogs after a child was attacked
In Iran, snap checkpoints and university purges mark the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini protests
Arizona group converting shipping containers from makeshift border wall into homes: 'The need is huge'