Search for survivors in Baltimore has been suspended. Six people missing are now presumed dead, a coast guard official announced.
The toll would have been worse if the ship, which suffered a “momentary loss of propulsion”, had not managed to send out a distress call. The investigation will have to determine how the shock caused by a single ship could destroy several arches of the metal bridge, the construction of which began in 1972 and which was inaugurated in 1977. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott spoke of “an inconceivable tragedy,” with police saying they ruled out a possible terrorist act.