Maryland’s governor said there was enough time between the time the MV Dali issued its distress signal and before it crashed into the Baltimore Bridge to shut off traffic and save lives.
Gov. Wes Moore spoke to reporters in Baltimore Tuesday morning, dodging a number of questions, including how many members of the public were on the bridge when it collapsed, but said efforts to prevent further vehicles are underway. When he realized that the disaster he admitted was imminent, he went up on the bridge.
It was not immediately clear how alert the city and port authorities were, but there were fewer vehicles on the bridge at the time of the crash than there had been minutes earlier, when 18-wheelers and passenger cars had been regularly seen. It is certain that it was. intersection.
Governor Wes Moore holds a press conference on the Maryland Department of Transportation campus near the bridge. On the left is Lieutenant Governor Aluna Miller. Behind them are Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski and Senate President Bill Ferguson. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
As previously reported, the MV Dali suffered a complete loss of power just 4 minutes and 20 seconds before impact. If the crew had first noticed the problem and immediately radioed shore, authorities could have alerted people on the ground and prevented more cars and trucks from crossing the bridge in just a few minutes. It means that it was completed.
Governor Moore said:
… We can confirm that the crew reported the power issue to authorities… What we do know is that the incoming boat did as well. Our boat was very fast as she came in at 8 knots. We understand that an investigation is currently underway. But I have to say I’m thankful for the people who were able to literally stop the cars coming over the bridge after the warning went out and they got the notification that Mayday was coming. These people are heroes. They saved lives last night.
…
…The investigation is still ongoing to determine the exact number of people and the overall situation. But what we do now is that many vehicles were stopped before entering the bridge, saving lives in a very heroic way.
Moore declined to confirm or deny whether members of the public were on the bridge at the time it was hit by the ship, causing immediate catastrophic structural failure, but there was an eight-person construction team. This was confirmed. The bridge at that time. Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said their work is not structural and the team is just filling in the gaps.
Of the eight people, two have been rescued from the water so far, Wiedefeld said. One of them was hospitalized, and the other (incredibly given the distance of the falls and the frigid waters of the Patapsco River at 1:30 a.m. ET) was released without needing treatment. The remaining six cases are still unsolved.
Governor Moore said the state is “doing everything in our power to rescue the victims of this collapse as we speak,” and that divers and airlines are involved.
