Biden says government will pay the full cost to replace collapsed Baltimore bridge and insists it was an accident: President vows to ‘move heaven and earth’ to get one of world’s busiest ports reopened after disaster in Maryland
President Joe Biden pledged that the federal government will pay for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and insisted it was an accident.
Biden vowed to move “heaven and earth” to reopen one of the world’s busiest ports after a ship lost power and destroyed the bridge that spans the Patapsco River at the mouth of the Port of Baltimore.
‘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.
“I am leading my team to move heaven and earth three, open the port and rebuild the bridge as quickly as possible,” he said.
Divers were still looking for six construction workers who were repairing holes in the bridge and were missing.
“We’re going to get it back up and running as quickly as possible,” President Joe Biden said
“It is my intention that the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding that bridge. I expect Congress will support my efforts. This will take some time. The people of Baltimore can count on us to be with them every step of the way,” Biden said.
“We’re not leaving until this job is done,” he added.
Biden was briefed on the collapse by his team early Tuesday morning. He also met with senior staff where he directed that all federal resources be made available to assist in the ongoing search and rescue efforts and response to this incident, the White House said.
‘Everything so far points to this being a terrible accident. At this point, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe that there was an intentional act here,” the president said.
Maryland Governor Wes 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.
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’re 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 weren’t more cars on the bridge,” Moore said.
Initially, officials feared drivers were submerged in the Patapsco River in their cars. But the warning from the ship gives officials enough time to stop traffic at both ends of the bridge.
The people who blocked traffic “undoubtedly saved lives,” President Biden said.
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.
The White House tweeted a photo of President Joe Biden being briefed on the bridge collapse
Officials in Baltimore are racing to rescue 20 people who plunged into the Patapsco River after a Singaporean freighter crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge
An injured person was pictured being loaded into an ambulance after being taken off the ship following the collapse
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.
The bridge spans 9,000 feet over the Patapsco River and is 180 feet above the water
Maryland authorities are using sonar detection equipment to search for the crew members who fell into 47F water while repairing holes in the 180-foot bridge when it collapsed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning after the catastrophic collision around 1:30 a.m.
An aerial view of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after the collision
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.
About 30,000 vehicles use the bridge, which is named after the writer of the Star Spangled Banner, every day. It opened in 1977.