March 28, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

New York and New Jersey governors say the Port Authority can take on additional cargo in wake of the Baltimore bridge collapse, announcing they directed the agency to “further evaluate all available resources to minimize supply chain disruptions.”

The governors said they "will continue to work together to support our neighbors in Baltimore and consumers nationwide."

On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg predicted the restoration effort for the city and port won't be quick. He warned of supply chain disruptions, saying, "The impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply chains."

Hard-right Republicans are signaling openness to federal dollars being used to pay for the replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, but some want spending cuts to offset the cost.

Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told CNN he would need to see what the request is and how it would be paid for. "If we gotta go set aside X billion dollars to deal with that port issue, then we should pay for it. Go find somebody who's paid for it. And so well, I want to have those conversations," he said. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz similarly stressed “we got to do what we got to do” to rebuild the bridge given the huge economic and trade impact.

The Biden administration has signaled it is open to reducing certain regulations to speed up rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge, something Georgia GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde said is necessary. "The fastest way we could fix that bridge is to bypass a vast majority of the increased environmental regulations that have been put in place since the bridge was built," Clyde said.

All 21 crew members are still onboard the Dali cargo ship, a senior official in India's Ministry of External Affairs, who is familiar with the matter, told CNN on Thursday. Of the 21 crew members onboard the Dali, 20 are Indian nationals and are "in good shape," official said. 

“One of them got injured slightly and needed to have some stitches, the stitches have been given and he has then gone back to the ship," Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said in a briefing. 

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, is working to determine what occurred onboard Dali and also looking at the structure of the Key bridge itself in the wake of its collapse.

Synergy Marine Group, the company that managed the Dali cargo ship, extended its "deepest sympathies" to the families of the two people whose bodies were found in the Patapsco River after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. 

The company said one crew member was injured and had returned to the ship on Wednesday after being treated. "The ship managers have activated their mental health team to provide trauma counseling for crew members feeling distressed, and that service will continue," it said.

The company said the NTSB began interviewing crew members and collected documents, voyage data recorder extracts, and other evidence as part of their investigation, adding "We will continue to cooperate with investigators throughout this process." It also said its emergency response teams are on the ground in Baltimore and coordinating with officials "on all stages of the recovery and remediation efforts," including participation in the Unified Command that has been established to provide information as it is available.

"We deeply regret this incident and the problems it has caused for the people of Baltimore and the region’s economy that relies on this vitally important port," the company said. 

The Baltimore Orioles will honor the people who are presumed dead in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse at the season opener on Thursday.

The team said the moment of silence will also pay tribute to the city's "brave first responders who immediately stepped into action."

The Orioles are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards in Baltimore at 3:05 p.m. ET.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was one of the construction workers who are now presumed dead after the bridge collapse, his brother Martin Suazo told CNN.

Maynor Suazo was originally from Santa Bárbara in Honduras but moved to the US in search of a better life, his brother said. Maynor had lived in the US for the past 18 years. He was married with two children – an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, Suazo said.

One of eight siblings, Maynor Suazo was described by his brother Carlos Suazo Sandoval who lives in Baltimore as a kind and joyful person who had “vision.”

The Suazo family’s priority is to have Maynor’s body found, then they can move on to other worries, including the financial burden Maynor’s family may face, and telling their 72-year-old mother back in Honduras the painful news. The family plans to repatriate the body to Honduras if found, Carlos Suazo said.

More than 1,000 US Army Corps of Engineers personnel were activated to help clear the critical shipping channel where Baltimore's Key Bridge collapsed.

Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commander and chief of engineers, explained the team will approach the mission in three steps. Here's what they are:

"We're up to this task. We have what we need," Spellmon said.

This post has been updated with additional information about the bridge collapse.

Even before most Americans woke up Tuesday morning to news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, wild conspiracy theories about what supposedly had “really” happened were running rampant online.

The claims ranged from a cyber-attack or a ship captain impaired by side effects from Covid-19 vaccines being responsible for the crash – to claims that Israel, or even the Obamas had something to do with the bridge’s collapse.

All of these claims are entirely baseless. Officials investigating the crash said early on that there was no indication it was a deliberate act.

But that didn’t stop conspiracy theories from spreading rapidly across the internet, generating tens of millions of views on social media even as dive teams crews were conducting search and rescue operations. In just a few hours an entire alternate reality, devoid of facts, had been created around the bridge’s collapse.

It is a stark reminder of the erosion of trust among Americans in major institutions, particularly government and media, and the perverse online incentive structures that reward the sharing of misinformation.

Read more about the torrent of conspiracy theories that spread online following the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge.

The coastal flood advisory for Anne Arundel county in Maryland — the county bordering Baltimore county to the south and includes Annapolis — has been extended into Thursday morning.

Coastal inundation up to half a foot is possible in low-lying areas of the county, and tides could be up to 1.5 to 2 feet above normal, according to the local Baltimore/Washington National Weather Service (NWS) office.

Baltimore is not under a coastal flood alert as of this write, though a small craft advisory for the Patapsco River goes into effect Thursday morning at 11 a.m. ET due to strong winds, according to the Baltimore/Washington NWS office.

Rain from Wednesday night going into early afternoon Thursday, and while light, the rain could still contribute to reduced visibility on the river.

Gusts are expected to reach up to 30 knots (34 mph) Thursday on the river, and patchy fog could reduce visibility to 1 to 3 nautical miles.

Baltimore's forecast Friday calls for sunny skies and seasonal, with highs reaching the low 60s.