Two Bodies Recovered After Singapore-Flagged Ship Hit Baltimore Bridge, Agencies Report

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Divers on Wednesday recovered the remains of two of the six workers missing since they were tossed into Baltimore Harbor from a highway bridge that collapsed into shipping lanes when a faltering cargo freighter rammed into the structure, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday, March 28.

The bodies were pulled from the mouth of the Patapsco River a day after the massive container ship lost power and its ability to maneuver before plowing into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking most it into the water below.

Maryland State Police Colonel Roland Butler said a red pickup truck containing the bodies of the two men was found in about 25 feet (7.62 m) of water near the mid-section of the fallen bridge.

He also said that authorities had suspended efforts to locate and retrieve more bodies from the depths because of increasingly treacherous conditions in the wreckage-strewn river. Butler said sonar images showed additional submerged vehicles "encased" in fallen bridge debris and superstructure, making them difficult to reach.

Four more workers who were part of a crew filling potholes on the bridge's road surface remained missing and presumed dead. Rescuers pulled two workers from the water alive on Tuesday, and one was hospitalized.

The Singapore-flagged Dali, a container ship the length of three football fields, had reported a loss of power before impact and dropped anchor to slow the vessel, giving authorities barely enough time to halt road traffic on the bridge and likely preventing greater loss of life.

Meanwhile, The Straits Times reported that The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore will be investigating whether there has been an infringement of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Singapore officials are set to arrive in the US to help with investigations. 

The accident could cost insurers billions of dollars in claims, analysts said, with one putting the cost as high as $4 billion, which would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss, Reuters added. 

Economists and logistics experts doubted the port closure would unleash a major U.S. supply chain crisis or major spike in the price of goods, due to ample capacity at rival shipping hubs along the Eastern Seaboard.

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