Baltimore bridge collapse: Six individuals who had gone missing after a cargo ship lost power and collided with a major bridge in Baltimore, USA, early on Tuesday, are now presumed dead according to officials. Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr., Maryland State Police superintendent, announced on Tuesday evening that search operations for the missing individuals would be temporarily suspended until the following day.The shipping company Maersk confirmed that the incident involved the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, which struck the Baltimore bridge, leading to its partial collapse and causing vehicles and individuals to fall into the river below. Notably, the vessel was manned entirely by a crew of Indian nationals.Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath expressed a grim outlook, stating, “Based on the length of time that weve gone in this search... (and) the water temperature... at this point we do not believe that were going to find any of these individuals still alive,” as reported by the Associated Press.In response to the bridge collapse, US President Joe Biden pledged that the government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a vital artery in the nations transportation network.Marylands governor Wes Moore commended the ships crew for issuing a timely mayday call just before the collision, which helped authorities limit traffic on the bridge. Moore acknowledged their heroic actions, stating, “These people are heroes. They saved lives last night.”Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr. further elaborated that the ongoing search and rescue mission would transition to a search and recovery effort. He announced a temporary halt to the search, with divers scheduled to resume operations at 6 am on Wednesday, anticipating improved conditions for the challenging overnight search.
