A search is underway for the individuals thought to have fallen into the water amid theBaltimore bridge collapse.
Speaking during a press conference, Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace confirmed teams are now searching for multiple individuals in the water. Two people have been rescued so far.
Wallace said, “We are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point and we will continue to be for some time. We have a large area that we have to search. This includes on the surface of the water, subsurface, as well as on the deck of the ship itself.”
“We believe at this point we may be looking for upwards of seven individuals, that’s the latest information we have. However, what I will say is the information that I’m giving you right now is, as of right now. It’s what we know right now,” Wallace added, calling it “a very large incident.”
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
“It involves a very large footprint, multiple agencies are operating, therefore, information is subject to change as we get more intel and as our crews work through the morning,” the fire chief continued.
The container ship was a Singapore-flagged vessel and was heading to Sri Lanka, perABC News, It struck the bridge, which opened in 1977, before a large portion of it collapsed.
Rescue personnel gather on the shore of the Patapsco River.JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“Over the next 8-12 hours, you can expect to continue to see our air and maritime assets functioning in the water and in the air above. We need to do damage assessment of the ship itself before we can board that ship, and we need to continue our subsurface search which is including different types of sonar. We have side-scan sonar,” Wallace said.
Fire Department Chief James Wallace (L), Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley (C) and Mayor Brandon Scott (R) speak at a press conference.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
“We have other sonar capabilities here. We have underwater UAV’s that we’re working with, and throughout the night we’ve also been working with infrared technology, both from the air and on the water surface,” Wallace added.
Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, called the incident an “unthinkable tragedy.”
“We have to first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted, those families. I pray for our first responders and thank them — all of them — for working together. City, state, local, to make sure that we are working through this tragedy,” he said during the press conference.
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Scott said the focus was on the “families and people impacted” in the incident.
“The work that they do cannot be understated and I just want to thank them for all that they are doing and will do in the hours and days ahead,” Olszewski said. “We know that we have a long road ahead, not just in the search and rescue but the fallout following this.”
source: people.com
