Before hitting Baltimore bridge, ship sent out distress signal that “saved lives”

Maryland governor Wes Moore says the Dali’s crew sent out a distress call before the container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge early on Tuesday morning, allowing authorities to curb the flow of traffic onto the bridge.

“These people are heroes”

“I’m thankful for the folks who, once the warning came up, and once notification came up that there was a mayday, literally [saved lives] by being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge,” Moore said. “These people are heroes. They saved lives.”

Moore told reporters that the ship, which was travelling from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, was moving “at a very rapid speed”.

The Dali struck one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support columns at around 1:30am local time, causing the 47-year-old structure to collapse.

Video - Baltimore bridge collapses after ship collision:

Ship may have suffered power failure

US senator Ben Cardin has told the Baltimore Sun that the ship appears to have suffered a power failure that meant the crew could no longer control the vessel’s direction.

“What’s been indicated is the vessel lost power, and when you lose power you lose steering,” Cardin said. He added that there “weren’t too many occupied vehicles on the bridge” at the time of the accident.

Six people unaccounted for, officials say

Maryland Transportation Authority officials have told a news conference there were workers on the bridge filling potholes when the collision took place. According to Maryland’s transport secretary, Paul Wiedefeld, eight people - all from the construction crew - are believed to have fallen into the water, with six still unaccounted for.

Earlier on Tuesday, Baltimore City Fire Department chief James Wallace told reporters that two people have been rescued. While one was uninjured, he said the other was hospitalised in a “very serious condition”.