BALTIMORE, MD - The bodies of two people have been recovered from a red pickup truck which was submerged under the waters where the Baltimore bridge collapsed. An operation to recover the bodies of four more people presumed dead continues, after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Two victims of the collision have been named as construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge when it was struck.

Local media had reported that the six workers were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The BBC has not independently confirmed this and has contacted consular authorities for comment.

Investigators have boarded the Singapore-flagged Dali and recovered its data recorder, similar to a black box, officials say.

The US Coast Guard says more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil and cargo containing hazardous materials are on the ship, but there is no danger to the public.

All 22 crew members, who are all Indian nationals and were not hurt in the crash, are still on board.

The bridge snapped and plunged into the Patapsco River on Tuesday, about 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT), after the Dali container ship crashed into it.

The vessel had lost power and issued a distress call moments before, but could not change course in time to avoid crashing into the bridge.

President Biden has said the US government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge, but it's not clear how long this will take.

By the time the crew of the Dali, a massive 948ft (289m) container ship, realized what was happening, it was already far too late.

The vessel, at the very start of a 27-day journey from the port of Baltimore to Sri Lanka - completely lost power after leaving the port and was hurtling towards the city's iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge.

It was the middle of the night and the crew onboard were pitched into further darkness when the ship's lights suddenly went out.

The vessel was dead: there were no electronics and - crucially - no engine power. They were adrift but powerless to stop what was happening.

Multiple alarms rang out as the crew ran unsuccessful tests in a desperate attempt to fix the issue and regain power.

A local pilot onboard the vessel frantically gave orders, telling the crew to steer the rudder hard to port and drop anchor to keep it from drifting starboard.

While an emergency generator is believed to have kicked in, the ship never regained the use of its engines.

The pilots were left with no choice. Shortly before 01:30 (05:30 GMT), they issued a mayday call warning authorities that a collision was imminent.

"There's a ship approaching that has lost their steering," an official with the Maryland Transportation Authority can be heard saying in radio traffic recorded not long after. "Until you've got that under control, we've got to stop all traffic."

Maryland Governor Wes Moore later hailed the crew as "heroes" and said that their quick response had "saved lives" because authorities were able to stop the flow of vehicle traffic on to the bridge in the two minutes between the call and the collision.

It did not, however, stop what happened when the Dali slammed into a concrete column on the 1.5-mile (2.4km) bridge, which quickly collapsed, piece by piece, into the dark, cold waters of the state's Patapsco River.

What exactly led to the loss of power on board the Dali remains unclear.

Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that investigators would now seek to examine data from a voyage data recorder.

The port is a key regional hub for goods ranging from steel and aluminium to agricultural equipment, and is used by car-makers including General Motors and Honda. Data from the Maryland Port Administration shows the port handled at least 750,000 vehicles last year. (Source: BBC News)

Story Date: March 28, 2024