After the bridge collapsed in the US city of Baltimore, the search for the missing people continues on Wednesday. In the morning (local time) divers wanted to continue their work at the scene of the accident. However, the authorities assumed that no missing people were still alive.
According to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, eight construction workers were on the bridge repairing potholes at the time of the accident. Two people were rescued on Tuesday.
A huge container ship named dali had rammed the four-lane, more than 2.5 kilometer long car bridge on Tuesday night: large parts of the bridge collapsed, steel girders weighing tons were bent like thin wire due to the enormous force.
Missing construction workers come from Latin America
Two Guatemalans, aged 26 and 35, have been missing since the accident, the Central American country’s foreign ministry said. The immigrant organization Casa said one of its members was also missing. It is a father of three from El Salvador who went to work on Monday evening and did not return home.
CNN reported, citing the Mexican consul in Washington, Rafael Laveaga, that Mexican citizens were also missing. How many is not known. “We know our people are affected,” Laveaga told reporters. “They are also the ones who will rebuild the bridge – the Latinos.”
Cause of accident: possible problems with the power supply
A team from the Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was expected to board the ship for the first time on Wednesday. Electronics, especially the so-called ship data recorder, are of particular interest, said the authority’s chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, to CNN.
According to initial findings, there was a problem with the ship’s power supply before the accident. US media reported, citing the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, that there was a “temporary loss of propulsion”, which is why the dali couldn’t stay on course. According to US authorities, the crew managed to inform authorities in Maryland via a distress signal that they had lost control of the ship. Officials on land were apparently able to stop traffic and prevent more cars from getting onto the bridge.
Engineer and structural engineer Matthew Roblez told CNN that the collapse site and the remains of the bridge must now be treated as a crime scene. Their individual pieces would be gradually removed from the water to investigate why and how the collapse occurred.
The bridge was built in 1977, long before collision guidelines existed. “It makes me think about how many other bridges out there are vulnerable,” Roblez said. According to CNN, many bridges have so-called fenders to protect the supports. However, this did not exist at the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Recovering the parts alone will take months, said Roblez, and rebuilding it will take about two years. The costs for this would be around 500 million dollars (a good 460 million euros). US President Joe Biden had announced that he wanted to finance the reconstruction with money from the federal government.
US Secretary of Transportation: Prepare for supply chain problems
According to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the Singapore-flagged container ship was heading toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge “at eight knots, which is extremely fast.” The almost 290 meter long ship was supposed to sail from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. The Danish shipping company Maersk announced that it had temporarily chartered the ship, which was operated by the charter company Synergy Group. Accordingly, there were no Maersk personnel on the ship. The Danish container shipping company is the second largest in the world behind industry leader MSC.
The Port of Baltimore is one of the most important maritime ports of call in the USA – especially for the import and export of cars and small trucks, said Biden. Around 850,000 vehicles are shipped via it every year. Around 15,000 jobs depended on it. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said they are preparing for supply chain problems. These not only affect the region around Baltimore, “but the entire US economy.” The responsible authority suspended shipping traffic to the port until further notice, and larger freighters were diverted to a port in the neighboring state of Virginia.
According to experts, the closure of the port could also affect the exchange of goods with Germany. “Trade with Germany is likely to be affected by diversions,” Commerzbank trading expert Vincent Stamer told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.
“Baltimore is one of the ports used by Mercedes-Benz for vehicle imports, along with several other ports in the United States, including New Brunswick and Charleston,” the automaker said when asked. We are in close contact with logistics service providers and are monitoring the situation. However, the incident is unlikely to have any consequences for the export of vehicles.