Two bodies recovered from water under collapsed Baltimore bridge

1. The bodies of two people have been recovered from a red pickup truck which was submerged under the waters where the Baltimore bridge collapsed
2. An operation to recover the bodies of four more people presumed dead continues, after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city
3. Two victims of the collision have been named as construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge when it was struck
4. Investigators have boarded the Singapore-flagged Dali and recovered its data recorder - similar to a black box, officials say
5. The US Coast Guard says more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil and cargo containing hazardous materials are on the ship, but there is no danger to the public
6. All 21 crew members, who are all Indian nationals and were not hurt in the crash, are still on board
7. The bridge snapped and plunged into the Patapsco River on Tuesday, about 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT), after the Dali container ship crashed into it
8. The vessel had lost power and issued a distress call moments before - but could not change course in time to avoid crashing into the bridge
9. President Biden has said the US government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge, but it's not clear how long this will take

Four bodies still missing

Brandon Livesay

US reporter

Former FBI diver explains risks of Baltimore recovery

It's been a long day for the families of the construction crew who were on the bridge when it collapsed in Baltimore.

There was closure for some, with the recent announcement that the bodies of 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and 26-year-old Dorian Ronial Castillo Cabrera have been found.

But the waters are too treacherous for divers to continue the search for the other four missing men.

Authorities will now focus on removing the dangerous debris of the superstructure so that divers can return to the water.

There will also be new priorities of re-opening the shipping lanes and getting a new bridge built. But the timeframe, and the significant cost, is not yet known.

We're pausing our live coverage for now, but you can catch up on the latest information about the Baltimore bridge collapse here.

Our writers today were Madeline Halpert, Gem O'Reilly, Christy Cooney, Sophia Abdulla, Ruth Comerford, Jacqueline Howard and Ece Goksedef.

Thanks for following along with us.

A recap of what's happened today

We've just heard an update from authorities in Baltimore, who recovered two bodies from the waters underneath where the bridge collapsed.

Here's a recap on what has happened today:

• The bodies of two construction workers were found in a red pickup truck in about 25ft (7.6m) of water
• They were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and 26-year-old Dorian Ronial Castillo Cabrera
• Four workers remain missing and divers are unable to safely reach the area where sonar indicates they may be. Authorities believe the vehicles are "encased in superstructure and concrete"
• When the debris has been cleared, divers will return to the water to locate the missing men
• A data recorder from the cargo ship has been recovered, which investigators hope will answer questions about what happened

• NTSB officials say some containers on the ship are carrying corrosive, flammable, hazardous material including lithium ion batteries and some have been "breached"
• The US Coast Guard said earlier that more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil as well as hazardous materials in containers were on the ship but there was no danger to the public
• About 8,000 jobs have been affected and "$100m-200m [£79m-£160m] of value” that passes through the port daily
• Tom Perez, senior adviser to the US president, says JoeBiden is grieving with families and the government are doing everything possible to help them
• One of the two people who were pulled out of the river has been released from hospital

Ship administrators stress safety

Suranjana Tewari

Asia business reporter

Getty Images

The Dali container ship is flagged to Singapore

The administrators of the Dali - the ship involved in the Baltimore collision - have stressed how seriously they take the safety of vessels registered under them.

In a statement, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) says it works with eight international classification societies "to survey, inspect and ensure Singapore-flag vessels comply with all applicable statutory requirements".

The MPA adds that it has extended support to the US Coast Guard and local authorities, and is working with ship management company Synergy Marine to salvage the vessel.

It will also be conducting its own investigation to determine if any laws have been broken.

"MPA will continue to work with the ship management company to ensure that the welfare of Dali’s crew is taken care of throughout the incident, and that the company fully cooperates with the relevant local authorities," it says.

Press conference ends

The press conference with officials from the National Transportation Safety Board has now come to a close.

We heard from NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy and the investigator in charge of the operation, Marcel Muise.

You can scroll down this page to read updates on what they said.

Ship captain was interviewed today

Homendy says the captain of the ship was interviewed today, as was the ship's mate, chief engineer, and another engineer.

She adds that the two pilots will be interviewed tomorrow.

Hazardous material containers 'breached'

Homendy is asked how many of the 56 containers carrying hazardous materials are in the water and when these containers will be brought ashore.

"I did see some containers in the water and some breached significantly on the vessel itself," she says.

She says she doesn't know how many were breached but that she expects to be able to give an exact number in a later update.

She adds the NTSB will not oversee the process of removing containers from the water.

Onboard the ship it is 'utter devastation' - Homendy

Getty

Homendy says being on board the ship, it's "pretty devastating" seeing not just the mess of cargo containers but also the collapsed bridge.

"It's just utter devastation," she says.

"When I am looking at something like that I'm thinking about... the families who've lost loved ones and the families who are waiting to reunite with loved ones and what they must be going through," she says.

Bridge did not have 'redundancies'

Homendy is providing information on the bridge, which was built in 1976.

She says it did not have redundancies, meaning if a part of the bridge collapses then the whole bridge would collapse.

This is not the preferred method for building a bridge today, she says.

In the US, there are 17,468 "fracture-critical" bridges, out of 615,000 bridges total, she says.

The Baltimore bridge was in "satisfactory condition", she adds.

The difference between a 'black box' on a plane and on ships

Homendy says she wants to make clear the difference between the "black boxes" on the ship and those found on commercial airlines.

She says a black box on a plane would give readings of many more different parameters, while the device on a ship is "really a basic system".

"It is a snapshot of the major systems on a vessel," she says.

She adds that the NTSB wants to see systems capable of recording more parameters installed on ships.

Details of timeline before ship hit bridge

We're now hearing from NTSB official Marcel Muise, who says officials recovered a data recorder from the vessel that they later handed over to NTSB.

They are now finding out what was on the voice data recorder, which amounts to about six hours of data from 00:00 EST to 06:00 EST.

The information is preliminary, and audio quality varies because of alarms in the background.

We're also hearing about the timeline of the incident: the boat left at 0:39 EST and by 01:07 the ship entered the channel moving at a speed of 8 knots, Muise says.

Alarms started to sound at 01:24.

At 01:26, the device recorded steering commands and rudder orders, and a few seconds later, calls for assistance.

Hazardous materials in 56 containers

NTSB

Homendy says they have been able to confirm that, at the time of the accident, there were 21 crew members, plus two harbour pilots, on board the vessel, making for a total of 23 people.

She adds that investigation is also looking at the cargo manifest, and have so far identified a total of 764 tons (693 tonnes) of hazardous materials across 56 containers.

She says the materials include corrosives, flammables, and lithium ion batteries and that some of the containers were "breached".

Ship owner and operator have been asked to work with investigation

Homendy says both the owner and the operator of the vessel are invited to participate in the investigation.

They also work with various authorities involved in Baltimore such as the US Coast Guard to complete the probe.

Investigation is gathering evidence

Homendy says the mission of the National Transportation Safety Board is to "determine why something happened, how it happened, and to prevent it from reoccurring" in order to save lives.

She says she will be talking about how an investigation is conducted, but adds that the board will not analyse any of the information they collect, nor provide any findings, conclusion, or recommendations, while on scene.

"Our entire focus on-scene is to collect the perishable evidence," she says.

NTSB boarded cargo ship today to start investigation

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy is speaking to reporters now, saying her team got their bearings yesterday and set up a family assistance program.

Today is the first full investigative day on the scene, she says, adding that she boarded the vessel about 12:00 EST (16:00 GMT).

She offers her condolences on behalf of the agency.

National Transportation Safety Board to give update

We're expecting another press conference about the bridge collapse shortly, this one from the National Transportation Safety Board, which oversees investigations into civil transportation accidents.

The agency's chair, Jennifer Homendy, will deliver an update on the latest from the investigation at 20:00 eastern time (midnight GMT).

You can watch it by pressing the play button at the top of this page and we will be providing text updates throughout.

Divers dealing with 'incredibly black water', currents and jagged metal

Reuters

Divers working to reach vehicles buried beneath the collapsed bridge have faced dangerous and difficult conditions.

At a press conference earlier, Ronald L Butler from Maryland State Police said divers had “exhausted all search efforts” in the areas around the wreckage and had not yet been able to reach the vehicles.

“Because of the superstructure surrounding what we believe are the vehicles, and the amount of concrete and debris, divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate around that,” he said.

“Based on sonar scans, we firmly believe that the vehicles are encased in the superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw come down.”

The FBI agent leading search, Supervisory Special Agent Brian Hudson, has also said there is a “very dangerous situation underwater”.

“With the rubble still settling, it’s not a great spot for divers,” he told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

“It’s incredibly black water, as the sediment gets kicked up. And there’s also a significant current moving underwater as the tides change.”

He added that the recovery efforts could take as long as a week.

A recap of what's happened today

Police confirm two bodies found during bridge collapse search

We've just heard an update from authorities in Baltimore, who recovered two bodies from the waters underneath where the bridge collapsed.

Here's a recap on what has happened today:

• The bodies of two construction workers were found in a red pickup truck in about 25ft (7.6m) of water
• They were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and 26-year-old Dorian Ronial Castillo Cabrera
• Four workers remain missing and divers are unable to safely reach the area where sonar indicates they may be. Authorities believe the vehicles are "encased in superstructure and concrete"
• When the debris has been cleared, divers will return to the water to locate the missing men
• A data recorder from the cargo ship has been recovered, which investigators hope will answer questions about what happened

• The US Coast Guard said more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil and cargo containing hazardous materials are on the ship, but there is no danger to the public
• About 8,000 jobs have been affected and "$100m-200m (£79m-£160m) of value” that passes through the port daily
• Tom Perez, the senior advisor to the President said Biden is grieving with families and the government are doing everything possible to help them
• One of the two people who were pulled out of the river has been released from hospital

Marine traffic suspended

US Army boats and emergency rescue teams have surrounded the area of the wreckage since yesterday.

Marine traffic has also been temporarily suspended in and out of the Port of Baltimore following the collapse.

We just heard from authorities that opening shipping lanes is a priority, but the timeframe for that remains unclear.

EPA

The investigation has been taking place since yesterday

EPA

Marine traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore is temporarily suspended following the collapse

Reuters

Emergency rescue teams have been at the scene since Tuesday

Press conference ends

That's the end of the press conference, stick with us for more updates on this developing story.

Person pulled from water has been released from hospital

We've just had an update on one of two people who were pulled out of the river.

The person who was in hospital was released earlier today, police say.