Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott demands media stops using video of bridge collapse after snapping at reporter for asking when it would be rebuilt: ‘It’s traumatizing our community’

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has asked the media to stop using the video showing the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing.

The Dali crashed into the bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with footage showing the bridge crumbling into the Patapsco River.

Speaking to CNN, Mayor Scott told the station: “I will be the first to ask CNN and everyone else to stop showing the video.

“No one has to face the possibility of their family member being seriously injured or otherwise injured over and over again. It just traumatizes our community.”

There are currently five vehicles submerged in the river. Six construction workers are still missing who had been working on the bridge when it collapsed.

Maryland authorities are using sonar to search for people who fell into 47F water while they were repairing holes in the 180-foot bridge when it collapsed.

Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning after the catastrophic collision, which occurred around 1:30 a.m.

The ship had been underway for twenty minutes when it collided with a support column on the bridge.

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

“We are grateful that between the Mayday and the collapse – that we had officials who were able – to begin to stop the flow of traffic so that there were no more cars on the bridge,” Moore added .

President Joe Biden, who will speak to the country later today about the collapse, said on X: “This morning I convened senior members of my team for a briefing on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

“I have directed my administration to ensure that all federal resources are available to support the search and rescue efforts and response to this terrible incident.”

President Joe Biden announced that the government would pay the full cost of replacing the bridge and insisted it was an accident.

Biden vowed to move “heaven and earth” to reopen one of the world’s busiest ports.

‘We will make it operational again as soon as possible. 15,000 jobs depend on that port. And we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs,” Biden said in a speech at the White House.

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.

Wiedefeld said: ‘We know that at the time of the collapse there were persons on the bridge working on the bridge, contractors for us.

He said workers were “basically making repairs to the concrete deck” but did not know how many vehicles were involved.

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

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.

While another said: ‘It’s a question that will have to be answered at some point, but the mayor’s answer was clear. People are still missing…

It’s still unclear why the cargo ship crashed into the Key Bridge well before the morning commute, or how many people might be in the waters of the busy harbor near a major port.

Initial reports indicated a loss of propulsion or power on board just before the collision.

Rescuers pulled two people from the water mid-morning and searched for more. One was uninjured while the other suffered injuries, officials said.

One official called it a “mass casualty event in progress.”

The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to fall apart like a toy.

It fell into the water almost immediately – a shocking sight that was captured on video and posted to social media. The barrel caught fire and thick, black smoke came out.

“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,” Mayor Scott said earlier, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

The collapse will almost certainly create a logistical nightmare along the East Coast for months, if not years, halting ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore and reducing freight and commuter traffic.

“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,” said Senator Johnny Ray Salling.

Highway signs as far south as Virginia warned motorists of delays related to the bridge closure.

Fire Chief James Wallace said authorities “may be looking for more than seven people,” but said that number could change.

Other officials declined to provide figures. It was not clear whether the two people reportedly rescued were among the seven named by the fire chief.

Authorities said a crew of unknown size was working on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that sonar detected cars in the water, which is about 50 feet (15 meters) deep.

The water temperature before sunrise Tuesday was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scott effectively won Baltimore’s mayoral election in June 2020 when he received the Democratic nomination for the role. Democrats outnumber Republicans ten to one in the city.

He ran a campaign focused on youthful energy, progressive ideas and experience. Scott pledged to address long-standing challenges in the city, such as gun violence and substance abuse.

Scott has been a council member since 2011 and became council president in 2019, emerging victorious from a field of more than two dozen Democrats, including incumbent Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young and former Mayor Sheila Dixon.

At 36, Scott was the youngest of the mayoral Democratic frontrunners. He was once mentored by the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings and was appointed lieutenant governor by an unsuccessful candidate in 2018.

According to Marine Traffic records, the Dali was en route from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, flying the flag of Singapore.

The container ship is about 1,000 feet long and about 157 feet wide, according to the website.

Hours before the collision, Mayor Scott delivered his State of the City address, reiterating plans to tackle crime and homelessness and the need to clean up the Port of Baltimore.

Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to deploy federal resources. The FBI was on the scene but said there was no credible information pointing to terrorism. President Joe Biden was informed.

Danish shipping company Maersk said it had chartered the ship. There were no crew members or Maersk personnel on board. The collapse left Maersk shares on the Nasdaq Copenhagen down two percent in early Tuesday trading.

Last year, the Port of Baltimore handled a record volume of 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion, according to the state. In addition to freight, more than 444,000 passengers left the port in 2023.