US Bridge Collapse: President Joe Biden Pledges to Rebuild Bridge

On March 26, immediately after the bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland (USA), US President Joe Biden pledged to mobilize all resources to repair and rebuild the bridge and reopen the East Coast port of the US as soon as possible.

Speaking at the White House, President Biden emphasized: "The federal government will pay the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge."

Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard and Maryland state police said six workers who were on a job repairing potholes on the bridge's surface are still missing after falling into the river when the bridge collapsed.

Based on the cold water temperature and the amount of time that has passed since the incident, it is unlikely that the six people are still alive if found, authorities said.

Eight workers were on the bridge when the accident occurred. Rescuers pulled two people from the water, one of whom was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Search and rescue operations at the scene were suspended for about 18 hours after the collapse.

The incident occurred early on the morning of March 26 local time (ie the same afternoon Vietnam time) when the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali was leaving the port heading to Sri Lanka when it crashed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (also known as the Key Bridge), causing the bridge to collapse and causing many people and vehicles traveling on the bridge at that time to fall into the river.

The train reported a power outage before the collision and authorities promptly notified vehicles approaching the bridge to stop traffic before the bridge collapsed.

At nearly 2 miles long, the Key Bridge is the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area and one of the busiest arteries in the United States. The bridge opened in March 1977. Approximately 11.5 million vehicles cross the bridge each year.