News

WATCH LIVE: NTSB provides update following collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a news conference following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Tuesday.

Watch a live stream from PBS News Hour below.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy is briefing reporters on the agency’s investigation into the bridge collapse, officials said.

>> Follow LIVE updates on the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse here

The Associated Press reports a container ship “lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing the span to buckle into the river below and plunging a construction crew and several vehicles into the dangerously cold waters.”

The AP’s Lea Skene adds, “Rescuers pulled out two people, but six others were missing.”

The ship’s crew reportedly issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, “enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span,” Skene cites Maryland’s governor as saying Tuesday morning.

“The ship struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy,” Skene writes. “It tumbled into the water in a matter of seconds — 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.”

With the ship barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Stay with 95.5 WSB for the latest on this developing story

Listen

news

weather

traffic

mobile apps

Everything you love about wsbradio.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!