Six people are presumed dead after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed overnight Tuesday, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday night, according to CNN.
The bridge came down around 1:30 a.m. ET after a cargo ship collided with it.
The Coast Guard officially announced more than 18 hours after the incident that it has ended its active search-and-rescue operation for the missing construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it was a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day", adding, "We put every single asset possible — air, land and sea" to find the missing people.
"While even though we're moving on now to a recovery mission, we're still fully committed to making sure that we're going to use every single asset to now bring a sense of closure to the families," the governor added, as quoted by CNN.
Officials have said that eight people were on the bridge when it fell. Two were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and has been discharged.
Around 7:30 p.m. ET, the Coast Guard said it has transitioned to a “different phase” of operation, now it did “not believe we are going to find any of these individuals alive,” Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.
The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. The vessel is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk.