Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday.

One of the busiest ports on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States had to close because of damage from a huge cargo ship that lost power.

Authorities from the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police said that the six people who went missing were not likely to be found living because the water was so cold and so much time had passed since the bridge collapsed.

Around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali crashed into a support tower of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the mouth of the Patapsco River. The boat was leaving the city on its way to Sri Lanka.

A trestled part of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) span immediately fell into the freezing water, pushing cars and people into the river.

Two people were pulled to safety, and one was taken to the hospital. But search-and-rescue operations stopped about 18 hours after the accident, according to the authorities.

Officials said earlier that the eight people were working on a project to fix holes in the bridge’s road surface when the accident happened.

The ship said it lost power before it hit, which let officials stop traffic on the bridge before it fell.

“By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a news briefing hours later. Moore said the bridge was up to code, with no known structural issues.

Sources:(1),(2),(3)

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