Baltimore bridge death toll: Recovery efforts to resume for 6 construction workers presumed dead

BALTIMORE, Md. -- The US Coast Guard has suspended hunt and rescue efforts for six radical who were connected the Francis Scott Key Bridge erstwhile it collapsed aboriginal Tuesday pursuing a large cargo vessel collision. Efforts are expected to resume astatine 6 a.m. Wednesday for the missing people, who are presumed dead.

Search deemed unsafe Tuesday night

Search and betterment operations were halted overnight owed to unsafe conditions, including "very unstable" sections of the alloy span and shipping containers hanging from the cargo ship, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN. Divers volition instrumentality to the h2o Wednesday to hunt for the six missing.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Tuesday, "We're inactive afloat committed to making definite that we're going to usage each azygous plus to present bring a consciousness of closure to the families."

Coast Guard assessing hazmat threat

The US Coast Guard is examining damaged shipping containers, immoderate containing perchance hazardous materials, from the crashed vessel, according to a US authorities papers obtained by CNN and a US authoritative acquainted with the matter.

Federal officials are monitoring astir 1.8 cardinal gallons of substance wrong the vessel for its "spill potential," according to an unclassified memo from the national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But the US authoritative acquainted with the substance told CNN "lots would person to spell wrong" for that magnitude of substance to spill.

An elite Coast Guard squad is examining 13 damaged containers from the crashed vessel, "some with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and/or hazardous materials [HAZMAT] contents," the CISA memo said. The squad is besides analyzing the ship's manifest to find what was connected committee and if immoderate materials could airs a wellness risk, the root said.

Details look connected those missing

Local authorities person yet to corroborate the identities of those missing but person said they see operation workers who were connected the span astatine the clip of the collapse.

Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, is among the unaccounted for, according to the nonprofit CASA. Honduran antheral Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval is besides missing, his member told CNN.

Luna headed to his operation occupation Monday evening and has not travel home, according to CASA, a nonprofit that provides services to working-class and migrant families. He is "a husband, a begetter of three, and has called Maryland his location for implicit 19 years," the nonprofit said successful a statement.

RELATED: What we cognize astir the missing workers aft Baltimore span illness arsenic betterment efforts resume

Martin Suazo's household called him aboriginal Tuesday with devastating news. His brother, 38-year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, had been doing attraction enactment connected Key Bridge erstwhile it collapsed into the river, helium told CNN.

At first, the household held retired hope, believing that Suazo would beryllium recovered alive, the member said. But present they conscionable anticipation his assemblage tin beryllium recovered truthful the household tin person immoderate closure and springiness him a due goodbye.

Suazo is from Azacualpa, Santa Bárbara successful Honduras but has been surviving successful the United States for the past 18 years, his member said. He is simply a joined begetter of 2 - an 18-year-old lad and 5-year-old daughter, Martin Suazo added.

He has been doing operation enactment but is besides an entrepreneur who had started his ain attraction company. He ventured to the US successful hunt of a amended life, Martin Suazo said.

The household had been informed that the hunt was suspended Tuesday nighttime owed to the hard upwind conditions but were told that betterment efforts would resume Wednesday morning, the member said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs successful Guatemala said 2 Guatemalans are besides unaccounted for: a 26-year-old from San Luis, Petén, and a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula. A Mexican Embassy authoritative successful Washington said immoderate missing are besides Mexican, though helium did not accidental however many.

Investigators to cod evidence

The National Transportation Safety Board volition pb the clang investigation, but investigators are allowing clip for hunt efforts to proceed earlier they measure the clang site, said the agency's chair, Jennifer Homendy.

There is "absolutely nary denotation that it was intentional," Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Tuesday.

NTSB investigators program to cod grounds from the vessel, analyse the bridge's operation and analyse debris that fell into to the Patapsco River and onto the vessel itself, said Homendy.

A specialized squad volition besides find who was controlling the vas and who was connected the ship's span astatine the clip of the crash, she said.

As officials person said the clang appears to beryllium an accident, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg looked to easiness fears astir span information crossed the country, calling the Key Bridge illness "a unsocial circumstance."

"I bash not cognize of a span that has been constructed to withstand a nonstop interaction from a vas of this size," helium said Tuesday.

Ship blacked retired earlier crash

Just minutes earlier impact, determination was a "total blackout" of motor and electrical powerfulness connected the ship, according to Clay Diamond, enforcement manager of the American Pilots Association.

Diamond pointed retired that portion the lights connected the vessel could beryllium seen turning backmost connected - apt owed to an exigency generator - the ship's engines ne'er recovered.

"It's not unheard of for determination to beryllium an motor and generator casualty similar it happened here, it conscionable happened astatine the nonstop incorrect clip and place," helium said.

Investigators volition comb vessel for evidence

The National Transportation Safety Board volition pb the clang investigation, but investigators are allowing clip for hunt efforts to proceed earlier they measure the clang site, said the agency's chair, Jennifer Homendy.

NTSB investigators program to cod grounds from the vessel, analyse the bridge's operation and analyse debris that fell into to the Patapsco River and onto the vessel itself, said Homendy.

RELATED: Here's what amazed a Drexel University prof astir the Baltimore span collapse

A specialized squad volition besides find who was controlling the vas and who was connected the ship's span astatine the clip of the crash, she said.

As officials person said the clang appears to beryllium an accident, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg looked to easiness fears astir span information crossed the country, calling the Key Bridge illness "a unsocial circumstance."

"I bash not cognize of a span that has been constructed to withstand a nonstop interaction from a vas of this size," helium said Tuesday.

Reconstruction has hefty terms tag

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said rebuilding the span volition "not beryllium quick" and volition surely beryllium costly. President Joe Biden besides called connected Congress to enactment betterment efforts and said helium intends for the national authorities to screen the afloat repair costs.

President Biden pledged his enactment successful the aftermath of the collapse, telling residents "we're going to enactment with you arsenic agelong arsenic it takes."

"It's my volition that the national authorities volition wage for the full outgo of reconstruction successful that bridge. I expect the Congress to enactment my effort," Biden said from the White House.

Traffic interaction up of engaged vacation play

The span illness volition person a large postulation interaction for the East Coast, particularly up of a engaged vacation question weekend.

About 30 1000 vehicles question connected I-695 and transverse the Key Bridge each day.

Now, the already engaged Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Fort McHenry Tunnel volition person to sorb that traffic.

The Fort McHenry is portion of I-95 and already handles astir 115,000 vehicles per day.

Vital shipping larboard remains closed

After hunt efforts conclude, a apical precedence volition beryllium clearing the transmission truthful the Port of Baltimore tin reopen, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen told CNN Tuesday. He noted astir 4 ships cannot permission the larboard and astir 20 others are waiting to get in.

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said determination is "no question that this volition beryllium a large and protracted interaction to proviso chains. It's excessively soon to connection estimates connected what it volition instrumentality to wide the transmission and reopen the port."

The Key Bridge was toppled soon earlier 1:30 a.m. Tuesday aft the hulking shipping instrumentality mislaid powerfulness and smashed into 1 of the bridge's enactment columns, sending radical and cars into the frigid Patapsco River.

RELATED: How to negociate your fears aft Francis Scott Key Bridge illness successful Baltimore

Eight operation workers were believed to beryllium mending potholes connected the span erstwhile it fell, according to officials. Two survived and were pulled from the stream but the remaining six are presumed dormant owed to the prolonged hunt clip and acold h2o conditions, they said.

All 22 unit members of the instrumentality vessel - a Singaporean-flagged vas named DALI - are harmless and accounted for, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

But the vas - and each of its contents - inactive beryllium successful the mediate of the channel, its bow draped with monolithic pieces of the mangled alloy bridge.

PHOTOS: Francis Scott Key Bridge successful Baltimore collapses aft cargo vessel rams into enactment column

Gov. Wes Moore called the illness a "catastrophic and horrific occurrence" for the authorities and the families of those missing, who helium was capable to talk with Tuesday.

"They reminded america who these individuals were - that they weren't conscionable peculiar workers who were doing important enactment for the metropolis and for the state, but they were radical who were husbands and sons and fathers and brothers-in-law," Moore said. "So this is simply a truly devastated assemblage of families."

Ship's aviator did 'everything helium could,' aviator relation authoritative says

The aviator of the vessel did "everything that helium could person done" to some dilatory the vas down and support it from drifting toward the span erstwhile it mislaid power, said Diamond, the American Pilots Association director.

Diamond told CNN helium has been successful adjacent connection with the Association of Maryland Pilots regarding what unfolded connected the Dali cargo vessel successful the moments starring up to the crash.

The aviator rapidly gave a drawstring of orders, calling for the anchor to beryllium dropped and the rudder to beryllium pulled arsenic acold near arsenic possible, Diamond said. He besides called the dispatch bureau to unopen down postulation connected the span - an enactment respective officials person credited with redeeming lives.

RELATED: Officials stopped postulation onto Baltimore's Key Bridge earlier collapse: 'These radical are heroes'

"We're thankful that betwixt the mayday and the collapse, that we had officials who were capable to statesman to halt the travel of postulation truthful much cars were not connected the bridge," Gov. Moore said Tuesday.

But the bonzer size of the vas and its proximity to the span meant determination was small anticipation for avoiding the crash, Diamond said.

"Those were each the due steps but it happened truthful rapidly and with truthful small pb clip ... neither 1 of those maneuvers were enough," said Diamond.

Maritime pilots, who are required to beryllium licensed, temporarily committee a vessel and assistance usher the vas arsenic it maneuvers done section waters. Pilot grooming programs are extended and rigorous, according to Diamond, requiring years of acquisition navigating ships connected the water, schoolroom simulations, and moving nether the supervision of licensed pilots.

(The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

6abc contributed to this post.