White House says there’s ‘no indication’ Baltimore bridge collapse was intentional as investigators race to pull cars from water

The White House has said there is no evidence of “nefarious intent” in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

The ship involved in the bridge collapse is a 300-meter Dali, a Singapore-flagged container.

It left the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore at 12:24 a.m. and at 1:25 a.m. it began to slow and veered off course.

It remains unclear what went wrong with the ship when it struck the 2.6-mile bridge, with a White House official saying: “There is no evidence of nefarious intent.”

Initial reports indicate that at least a dozen cars entered the 47-degree water, in addition to about two dozen construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time.

Initial reports indicate that at least a dozen cars hit the 47-degree water, in addition to about two dozen construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time.

The White House statement added that its “hearts go out” to the families of those involved following the “horrific incident.”

It continued: “The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue efforts for those who remain missing as a result of the bridge collapse.”

At the first news conference around 6:30 a.m., Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace could only confirm that two people had been pulled from the water.

One was unharmed, while the other had to be rushed to a local hospital with ‘serious injuries’.

Wallace said workers are looking for “more than seven” people, but the number of missing could change because the collapse is a “very major incident.”

At the same press conference, officials ruled out that terrorism was linked to the cause of the crash.

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.

In a statement, Synergy Marine Group, which operates the Dali vessel, said the vessel collided with a pier on the bridge.

The company said: ‘Although the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the ‘Dali’ has now mobilized its qualified individual incident response service.’

It added that all crew members, including the two pilots who were on board, have all been accounted for.