“So this evening at about 7.30 we’re going to suspend the active search and rescue efforts. The Coast Guard is not going away, none of our partners are going away, but we’re just going to transition to a different phase.”

The decision came as the sun set over Baltimore, as dozens of people lined up along Interstate 695 to see what remained of the bridge named after Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

Since it was in built in 1977, the 2.5-kilometre arterial had become emblematic of Baltimore’s identity as a working class port city.

Just as Sydney has its Harbour Bridge, or New York has the Brooklyn Bridge spanning the East River from Manhattan, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a decades-old fixture for the blue-collar Baltimore communities on each end of it.

It is also a major thoroughfare that carries more than 11 million vehicles every year – including President Joe Biden’s, who has often crossed the bridge from his home in Delaware en route to Maryland or Washington, DC.

Loading

But what remains now are submerged steel rods and twisted metal, much of it wrapped around the 95,000-tonne, 300-metre-long cargo ship that crashed into it.

“This is no ordinary bridge, this is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“It has been part of the skyline of this region for longer than many of us have been alive. So the path to normalcy will not be easy, will not be quick, will not be inexpensive. But we will rebuild together.”

According to authorities, the ship was moving at about eight knots (14 km per hour) before the collision, which is a typical speed for vessels travelling in the area. At 1.24am, the ship’s lights flickered, and at 1.26am the ship looked as though it was starting to change course. A few minutes later it crashed into the bridge.

Before the collision, the ship’s crew notified authorities that the vessel had lost power, a “mayday” alert that allowed transport authorities on the highway above to prevent many cars from driving onto it just before the impact.

‘I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to rebuild the port and reopen the bridge.’

US President Joe Biden

As Maryland Governor Wes Moore put it, an awful catastrophe could have been even more catastrophic.

Americans were nonetheless stunned and saddened to learn of the crash.

“I woke up to a friend texting me this morning about the bridge and immediately went on TikTok and saw it collapsing. I couldn’t believe it,” said Erin Miller.

“We were literally just on that bridge on Wednesday ... it’s so insane that now it’s gone.”

Others were fearful of the economic impact, given the Port of Baltimore is one of the key ports on America’s eastern seaboard, and critical for the car industry in particular.

The incident is also likely to cause chaos for travellers wanting to use the connection between New York and Washington DC, particularly ahead of the busy Easter weekend.

Ben Schafer, a professor of Civil and Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, estimated it could take at least 10 to 15 years to rebuild the bridge.

With about 15,000 jobs dependent on the port and millions of Americans reliant on the bridge, the federal government has offered to pay for its reconstruction.

“I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to rebuild the port and reopen the bridge,” Biden said, adding that he hoped the bridge would be up and running “as soon as humanly possible”.

Divers were due to return to the water at 6am Wednesday (US time) to try to recover the bodies of the six missing construction workers and give their families closure.

But while many questions remain unanswered, authorities have ruled out terrorism or anything nefarious.

The National Transportation Safety Board will now lead the investigation into the cause of the crash.

Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the board would examine the ship, its owner, operators and other crew members, as well as look into the bridge and its structure.

“But right now, it’s about people,” she said. “It’s about families and addressing the needs of those that were impacted. That’s the focus.”