Heart-pounding audio of Baltimore cops rushing to stop traffic going over Francis Scott Key Bridge as it collapsed after being hit by the Dali: ‘The whole bridge just collapsed… I can’t get to the other side!

This is the harrowing sound of Baltimore officials as they rushed to stop traffic on the bridge, seconds before it collapsed after being struck by a freighter.

“I need one of you on the south side, one of you on the north side, holding all the traffic on the Key Bridge,” someone is heard saying. “There’s a ship approaching that has just lost its steering, so until we get that under control we have to stop all traffic.”

The ship’s crew issued a distress call Tuesday morning just before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing authorities to restrict vehicular traffic on the span, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said.

About 90 seconds after they make the emergency call, another can be heard on the audio reporting that the bridge has collapsed.

‘The whole bridge just collapsed. Start, start anyone… anyone. The whole bridge just collapsed,” they said.

Another then says: ‘I can’t get to the other side, sir. The bridge is broken.’

The ship, the Singapore-flagged Dali, had been sailing for 20 minutes when it struck a support column on the bridge.

The ship’s crew managed to issue a Mayday before it crashed into the bridge, allowing officials to prevent cars from entering the bridge

An injured person was pictured being loaded into an ambulance after being taken off the ship following the collapse

The ship struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy. Within seconds it fell into the water – a shocking sight that was captured on video and posted to social media. The barrel caught fire and thick, black smoke came out.

As the ship raced toward the bridge at “very, very high speed,” authorities had just enough time to prevent cars from crossing the bridge, Gov. Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

The accident happened in the middle of the night, long before the busy morning traffic on the bridge, which is 2.5 kilometers long and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.

The six people still missing were part of a construction crew that was filling holes in the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, state secretary of transportation. One of those rescued was taken to a hospital, he said.

Several vehicles also went into the water, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.

“Never would you think you would see the Key Bridge like this, physically seeing it, collapsing. “It was like something out of an action movie,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

Rescue personnel gather on the banks of the Patapsco River during search and rescue efforts

Rescue personnel gather on the banks of the Patapsco River

State officials are using sonar detection equipment to search for the crew members who fell into 47F water while they were repairing holes in the 180-foot bridge when it collapsed.

Governor Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning after the catastrophic collision, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. The ship, the Singapore-flagged Dali, had been sailing for 20 minutes when it struck a support column on the bridge.

President Joe Biden addressed the bridge collapse shortly after noon EST from the White House, saying he has spoken to Maryland officials and told them he will send federal aid.

“To the people of Baltimore: We are with you, we will stay with you as long as it lasts,” he said. the Port of Baltimore is one of the most important shipping ports in the country and we are going to get it back up and running as quickly as possible.”

Biden added that he has directed his team to work to rebuild both the port and bridge “as quickly as humanly possible” and plans to visit Baltimore as soon as possible.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said eight people were on the bridge when it collapsed, and two of them were rescued from the water, with one refusing medical treatment and the other taken to the hospital before being released.

Officials said they spotted five vehicles submerged underwater thanks to infrared and side-scan sonar technology: three passenger vehicles, a cement truck and a fifth vehicle.

Stunning footage shows the moment the ship plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending the colossal steel structure plunging into the Patapsco River.

“Pilots move ships in and out of the Port of Baltimore,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said at a news conference Tuesday.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (C) walks with staff and law enforcement officers along the shore of the Patapsco River

What led to the crash remains unclear. Video shows the ship going dark seconds before the collision, indicating there was a power outage on board. The 22 crew members remain on board and are now being questioned by the Coast Guard.

In the latest update from officials, Governor Moore said divers and air power are currently working “to save lives” and will keep the public informed as the work progresses.

“I recognize that many of us are hurting and scared right now,” the Democrat said just before 10 p.m.

“I want to be clear: we are still investigating what happened, but our preliminary findings point to an accident. We have not seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore Office William DelBagno said that “there is no specific or credible information indicating this incident has ties to terrorism.”

The collapse is sure to create a logistical nightmare for the East Coast for months, if not years, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore and reducing freight and commuter traffic.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the Dali set out on a particularly long 28-day voyage because the crew wanted to bypass South Africa to avoid the Red Sea, where Yemeni Houthi rebels have attacked Western ships to protest the war in Gaza.

It was not immediately clear what caused the freighter to crash into the bridge well before busy morning traffic in a major U.S. city just outside Washington called a “developing mass casualty event.”

According to an early report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the container ship “lost propulsion” as it left port.

“The vessel notified the MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that it had lost control of the vessel and that a collision with the bridge was possible,” the report said. ‘The ship hit the bridge and completely collapsed.’

The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to break and buckle at several points and tumble into the water within seconds – a shocking sight that was captured on video and posted to social media. The barrel caught fire and thick, black smoke came out.

The rescue effort involves Coast Guard vessels, local police boats, the Baltimore Fire Department, volunteer fire departments from surrounding areas and teams of divers as the desperate search for survivors continues.

An explosion appeared to have occurred on the container ship when it collided with the bridge, sending containers and diesel into the water. One of the vehicles that fell into the water was a tractor-trailer.

The ship was not piloted by its own crew, but by local pilots who are used to specifically prevent accidents.

The ship involved is the 300-meter Dali, a Singapore-flagged container that was seen on ship-tracking websites quietly placed under the bridge after the crash.

It left the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore at 12:24 a.m. and at 1:25 a.m., began to slow and was diverted from its course. The video shows the lights on board going out just before the crash.

The Dali ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is unclear what cargo it contained. The ship was scheduled to land in Asia on April 27.

According to the ship’s owners, all crew members have been reported and no injuries have been reported.