What we know
- The remains of two people who were killed after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed when it was struck by the containership yesterday have been recovered. Four others are presumed dead.
- The victims were construction workers who were on the bridge filling potholes when the span was struck. Two people were rescued from the water, one of whom was treated at a local trauma center.
- The ship lost power, and a distress call prompted authorities to close the bridge to traffic. Video of the ship, emergency radio transmissions and analysis by maritime veterans paint a picture of a disastrous scenario — one that could have been much worse.
- National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told NBC News today that the agency has recovered the Dali's voyage recorder data.
- Customers from the East Coast to the Midwest could feel a costly impact from the collapse of the bridge, which was named for the man who wrote the poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Watch: Drone video shows aftermath of Baltimore bridge collapse
The NTSB captured the aftermath of the bridge collapse in Baltimore as investigators were surveying the extent of damage on board the cargo ship Dali.
More than 1,100 Army Corps of Engineers personnel assisting
More than 1,100 engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists from the Baltimore District of the Army Corps of Engineers are providing support to local, state and federal agencies after the collapse, the corps said in a statement.
The Army Corps is helping to clear the channel where the bridge collapsed, according to the statement, as a part of the recovery effort to remove the debris from the water.
Biden: 'We’ll be with the people of Baltimore for as long as it takes'
"Earlier today, I sat down with Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg and Vice Admiral Gautier to discuss the coordinated response to the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge," Biden said on X.
He added: "We’ll be with the people of Baltimore for as long as it takes."
Baltimore City Council president looks toward a return to normalcy
Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said his priority is to help bring normalcy back to his community.
“As we move on from search and rescue to now salvage, how do we turn some normalcy back to something that’s really important to our local economy, meaning the port?” Mosby asked on NBC News Now’s “Top Story with Tom Llamas.”
Rebuilding the bridge should remain the focus, he said.
“This is the ninth-largest port in the country. When we talk about the importance of the port being the most westward eastbound port, that’s why it’s the No. 1 importer of farming equipment that goes to the Midwest," he said.
NTSB chair expects investigation to take 1 to 2 years
Homendy said tonight she has "no doubt that we will be be able to pull this [the investigation] together in hopefully 12 to 24 months."
"With that said," she continued, "we will not hesitate again to issue urgent safety recommendations before that time if we need to."
She called the investigation into the crash a "massive undertaking" but noted that such an investigation is not new for the NTSB.
Right now, Homendy said, the focus is reuniting families with their loved ones.
"Everything else can wait," she said.
56 containers of hazardous materials were on containership
There were 56 containers of hazardous materials on board the Dali when it crashed, said Homendy, the NTSB chair.
The containers, holding 760 tons of hazardous materials, according to Homendy, mostly contained corrosives, flammables and "miscellaneous" materials, including lithium-ion batteries.
Some containers have been breached, Homendy said, adding that a sheen can be seen on the waterway.
Homendy said that some of the breached containers are in the water and some are on the vessel and that she does not know the total number of breached containers or the timeline for getting them out, as that does not fall on the NTSB.
She added that it is a "pretty dangerous situation" that is preventing officials from getting to the hazardous materials to assess what remains.
23 crew members still on board the Dali
Homendy said 23 people, including 21 crew members and two pilots, were on board the Dali when it crashed into the bridge.
The crew remains on board the ship, which the NTSB investigation team boarded earlier today as a part of its investigation.
The people on the vessel have power, Homendy said, but the ship cannot move.
2 more bridge collapse victims identified
Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico and lived in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk, Maryland, were identified as the men who recovered from the water this morning.
Both of their families have been notified, said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. with the Maryland State Police.
All six of the people presumed dead after the bridge collapse are believed to be from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
2 victims recovered; recovery efforts now a salvage operation
Searchers in the Port of Baltimore found two victims shortly before 10 a.m. today, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. with the Maryland State Police said in an update this afternoon.
The victims were in a red pickup that was trapped in 25 feet of water near what once was the middle of the bridge, he said.
Officials are moving from a recovery mission to a salvage operation at the scene, Butler said, because it is no longer safe for divers to navigate or operate around the debris and concrete in the port.
Scans from sonar vehicles have led officials to believe the vehicles still trapped underwater are encased in concrete and the structures that crashed down early yesterday.
Butler said that responding officers have "exhausted all search efforts" to recover the victims and that divers stopped searching the water at around 4 p.m. today.
Brother of Baltimore bridge worker shares frustration over recovery mission
The brother of Maynor Suazo, one of the six workers who vanished following the collapse of the Maryland bridge, shared his frustration and heartbreak while he and his family wait for updates.