The tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore is still unfolding as rescue teams scramble to find the people affected by the accident.
According to the Daily Mail Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott kept his cool when he was asked by a reporter how long it would take to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge as the rescue efforts to save those who were still in the water were ongoing.
Scott, 39, took questions along with other Baltimore officials around 6:30am, five hours after the containership the Dali collided with the iconic bridge, completely destroying it.
Multiple people were thrown into the frigid waters as a result of the collision. Among those still missing are members of a construction crew who were working on the bridge at the time.
Towards the end of the media briefing, Scott was asked about the rebuild.
‘The discussion right now should be about the people, the souls, the lives, that we’re trying to save. There will be a time to discuss about a bridge and how to get a bridge back up but right now there are people in the water that we have to get out,’ he replied.
I know @MayorBMScott wanted to go off on this reporter ????????♂️ #baltimorebridge https://t.co/m2L82EDlb7 pic.twitter.com/yPqdlCcTTY
— DCSuperSid (@DCSuperSid) March 26, 2024
Bizarrely after the interaction went viral, the mayor retweeted a message that read: ‘I know @MayorBMScott wanted to go off on this reporter.’ Another tweeter noted that ‘Mayor Brandon Scott seems to have matured.’
While another said: ‘It’s a question that needs answering at some point, but the mayor’s answer was on-point. There are still people unaccounted for…’
It still remains unclear as to why the cargo ship crashed into the Key Bridge long before the morning commute, or how many people might be in the waters of the busy harbor near a key port.
There have been numerous reports that have pointed to a loss of propulsion or power on board just prior to the collision.
Rescuers pulled two people from the water by mid-morning and searched for more. One was unhurt, the other suffered injuries, officials said.
One official called it a ‘developing mass casualty event.’
The ship smashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to break apart like a toy.
It tumbled into the water almost instantly — a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media. The vessel caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.
‘Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,’ Mayor Scott said said earlier, calling it ‘an unthinkable tragedy.’
The collapse is almost sure to create a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, along the East Coast, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore and snarling cargo and commuter traffic.
‘Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,’ state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.
Highway signs as far south as Virginia warned drivers of delays associated with the closure of the bridge.
Fire Chief James Wallace said authorities ‘may be looking for upwards of seven people’ but said that number could change.
Other officials declined to give figures. It was not clear if the two people who were reported rescued were included in the seven cited by the fire chief.
Authorities said a crew of unknown size was working on the bridge at the time of the collapse and that sonar had detected cars in the water, which is about 50 feet deep.
The water temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
