Clip: 03/27/2024 | 2m 45s | Video has closed captioning.
Officials in Baltimore are continuing the search for the missing after a major bridge collapsed Tuesday. Divers are navigating treacherous waters hoping to recover what remains of those lost. Meanwhile, investigators have recovered the cargo ship’s black box as they begin to piece together what went wrong. William Brangham reports.
Aired: 03/27/24
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Welcome to the "NewsHour."
So far, two bodies have been recovered from the river where a bridge collapsed yesterday in Baltimore.
As the search for the remaining unaccounted for continues, divers are navigating treacherous waters, hoping to recover what remains of those lost.
The city of Baltimore woke up again this morning to the mangled ruins of the Francis Scott Key Bridge shrouded in fog.
The initial search-and-rescue mission has turned to a search-and-recovery mission.
GOV.
WES MOORE (D-MD): These divers have been back in the water for hours now.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Maryland Governor Wes Moore said divers and recovery crews are braving treacherous conditions in the depths of the Patapsco River to search for those missing, who are now presumed dead.
GOV.
WES MOORE: They are down there in darkness, where they can literally see about a foot in front of them.
They are trying to navigate mangled metal.
And they're also in a place that they -- it is now presumed that people have lost their lives.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Around 1:30 Tuesday morning, the Dali, a nearly 1,000-foot-long cargo ship, lost power as it was piloting out of the Baltimore Harbor.
The vessel was able to issue a mayday call, allowing police to halt bridge traffic.
EMERGENCY DISPATCHER: I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side.
Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge.
There's a ship approaching that has just lost their steering.
There's a crew up there.
You might want to notify whoever the foreman is, see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But the work crew that was on the bridge wasn't able to evacuate in time.
Last night, a vigil was held for those who couldn't be rescued, immigrant construction workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. Secretary of Transportation: Thank you.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: At the White House today, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg laid out four objectives his department is focusing on now.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. Secretary of Transportation: Reopen the port, deal with the supply chain implications until the port does reopen, rebuild the bridge, and deal with the surface transportation implications until the bridge is rebuilt.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But he couldn't give a timeline for the reopening of the bridge.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: We just don't know yet, especially in terms of their foundational infrastructure.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Or the port.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: Again, too soon to venture an estimate.
The vast majority of the port is inside of that bridge, which means most of it cannot operate.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For now, other Baltimore roadways are absorbing the estimated 31,000 vehicles that normally cross the Key Bridge every day.
Meanwhile, investigators have recovered the cargo ship's black box, as they begin to piece together what went wrong.
