President Biden has promised that he will visit Baltimore “as soon as possible” after a major bridge collapsed – as officials say the rescue mission for the six missing people has now become a recovery operation.
Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, was one of the six people on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed after being hit by a 289m-long cargo ship.
Those missing were reported to be construction workers who were on the bridge fixing potholes. All six worked for Brawner Builders, and are presumed dead by authorities.
Image: Miguel Luna is missing presumed dead. Pic: Family photo via NBC
A relative of Mr Luna told Sky News they were distraught as they waited for news about him, and said that some members of his family were taken by police to a location in Baltimore where they could be with the other families of the missing.
Jose Campos, a colleage of Mr Luna, also told Sky: “My supervisor called me in the morning and told me they had rescued one of my colleagues but he was in a coma.
“I never imagined something this awful could happen. The path where the boat goes was supposed to be a safe zone.”
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The 1.6-mile long bridge crashed into the Patapsco River at 1.30am local time (5.30am UK time) on Tuesday. Joe Biden was quick to say to the “People of Baltimore, we’re with you,” and added the search and rescue operation was a “top priority”.
The search has now been suspended for the night and will resume at first light, but US Coast Guard and Maryland State Police officials have said that based on the frigid temperature of the water and the length of time that had elapsed since the bridge came down there was little if any chance that the six could be found alive.
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Eight people were initially unaccounted for, with two of them having been rescued from the water.
One of them is described as being in a “very serious condition” in hospital while the other was not injured.
Meanwhile, the US president said the federal government will cover the “full cost” of rebuilding the bridge. He said it may emerge a private company was responsible for the disaster, but his government is “not going to wait” to begin the rebuilding process.
Mr Biden told reporters at the White House: “It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge and I expect Congress to support my effort.”
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Everything we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse.
The US president continued: “Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here.
“Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel.”
Mr Biden added that this meant local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck which “undoubtedly saved lives”.
He continued: “Our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families [affected], especially those waiting for news of their loved one right now. I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime.”
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The US president also said authorities will be working to get the port open again as soon as possible.
The Port of Baltimore, which is accessed or departed by going underneath the bridge, is one of the US’ largest shipping hubs.
Mr Biden said 15,000 jobs depend on the port.
“We’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs,” he added.
He continued: “I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible.”
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‘They thought it was an earthquake’
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Timeline of Baltimore bridge collapse
Baltimore fire department’s communications chief Kevin Cartwright has said there were multiple vehicles on the bridge when it was struck by the ship, one of which was the size of a tractor trailer.
According to the timings on the CCTV, the vessel hit the structure at 1.28:44am – with the bridge collapsing four seconds later.
All 22 crew members on board the ship, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a news conference that its investigators will not board the Dali on Tuesday.
The authority’s chair Jennifer Homendy said the decision has been made to give “some time to the search and recovery effort”.
“We did not want to interfere,” she added.
Ms Homendy explained the NTSB will be able to provide more information in the “coming days”, and voyager data recorder information will be “critical”.
She said the NTSB will be leading the investigation and the Coast Guard will support it.
The same ship was previously involved in a minor incident when it hit a quay at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2016, according to Vessel Finder and maritime accident site Shipwrecklog.
The vessel was reportedly damaged in the incident, but there were no injuries or pollution issues reported.
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Aerial view of Baltimore bridge crash
Meanwhile, Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott has declared a local state of emergency which will be in place for the next 30 days as the search for the missing continues.
The NTSB is also conducting an investigation into the incident.
The Singapore-flagged ship was headed to Colombo in Sri Lanka at the time of the collision.
It was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk, which said it was “horrified by what has happened”. It said its thoughts were with everyone affected.
The Port of Baltimore is the 11th largest in the US, meaning its closure will cause knock-on effects for the industry.
Built in 1977, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance.
It was named after the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the US, which was penned after a War of 1812 US-UK battle in Baltimore harbour.
Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”
“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.
“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”
Image: Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA
Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.
The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.
His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.
Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Image: The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.
Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.
Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.
Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.
The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.
Image: Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.
“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.
President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.
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He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.
As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.
Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.
Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.
She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”
Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.
Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.
US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.
If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.
And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.
Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.
This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.
“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.
Executive vs judicial
This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.
Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.
Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.
Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.
It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.
‘Administrative error’
At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.
The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.
Image: Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP
Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.
This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.
During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”
Image: The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.
Democrat senator travels to El Salvador
Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.
“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.
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