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pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" . this is the world today. . six people are still missing after a ship plows into a bridge, causing it to collapse. this is the scene in baltimore, where rescuers are continuing to search the water. >> it is 3:00 p.m. in baltimore. we are live on the scene where search-and-rescue operations have in going for more than 12 hours. the latest developments from the scene. >> also coming up on the world today. two ministers quit rishi sunak's government. the latest from westminster.

>> welcome to the world today on bbc news. an unthinkable tragedy. that is how the mayor of baltimore described the collapse of the francis scott key bridge in the city. rescuers are still searching the icy waters of the river for people who plunged from the bridge when a giant container ship hit it. six people remain unaccounted for. they are thought to be construction workers. 2 were rescued, one is in critical. president biden promised the people of baltimore any federal support required will be given to them. he said "we will rebuild the port together." the ship left the port of baltimore at 12:44 a.m. and was ultimately heading for sri lanka. within 45 minutes, it veered off course and collided with one of the bridge's main supports at approximately 1: a.m..

the structure collapsed shortly afterwards. authorities say there were no structural problem with the bridge. all shipping in and out of the port of baltimore, one of america's busiest, has been suspended until further notice. the planned route of the ship in green, the direction it drifted into the bridge. this is the moment of the collision. the cargo ship experiencing a power issue in the run-up to hitting a column on the left of the screen. a report by u.s. infrastructure agency says the ship lost propulsion and the crew did notify the authorities they have lost control of their vessel. you can see there are vehicles on the bridge at the time of the impact. it is only a matter of seconds between the moment of impact and the structure collapsing. for more on this story, let's go to baltimore. my colleague in baltimore.

>> thank you very much. we are standing south of where the bridge collapse happened. over my right shoulder, the ship wedged into the bridge where it hit the bridge and collapsed. it is incredibly windy and cold. about 7, 8 degrees celsius. the water is very murky and icy, making the search-and-rescue operations, which have been going on for more than 12 hours, very difficult. there was a press conference in the last 20 minutes from the ntsb, the national transportation safety board. they told us there are more people coming and not a coal operations experts looking at the safety history and record of the bridge. we will have structural engineers and experts on hand. and that on top of a mass coast guard presence. helicopters circling above. many taking part in this rescue

operation. the president has also been commenting on this terrible tragedy. saying there will be federal aid. all that is needed for helping in these operations and rebuilding the critical bridge. but so many questions remain unanswered. chief lee, what happened on the ship that caused the propulsion to fail? my colleague has been looking at how the day unfolded. >> it is just before 130 in the morning. and the 985 foot contner ship is heading for the open sea. at points, power on the ship appears to fail and the lights go out in the ship begins to be off course. it then hits a pylon, bringing the entire span of the bridge crashing into the river.

officials believe five vehicles were on the bridge at the time, along with eight construction workers. two workers were rescued. one in a critical condition and the hospital. >> our state is in shock. i want to take to this moment to speak to the people of our state . to our first responders, i am in all of you, your courage, your strength, everything you do. >> boats, helicopters, and divers scrambled to the scene looking fothe rest of the construction team still believed missing. local residents were awoken in their beds describing how they heard and felt the crash. >> didn't wake you up? >> yes. >> my husband does that kind of roadwork.

>> increbly, the crew on the ship realizing something was wrong. issuing a mayday before issuing the bridge. allowing authorities to prevent more vehicles from going onto the bridge and questionably, saving lives. local investigators have made it clear they believe this was an accident and have ruled out any kind of terrorist incident. >> my team will move hven and earth to reopen the bridge as soon as humanly possible. and we will work hand-in-hand with the support -- to support maryland with whatever they ask for. >> the port of baltimore, one of the 10 largest in the u.s., remains closed. a large vehicle in america's eastern seaboard. four impacts of this accident will be felt for months to come. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, baltimore.

>> gary gave you an idea of the impact of this tragedy. we want to show you the many live pictures and bbc news. this wide shot of the scene may give you a sense of some of the massive presence of coast guard and also local and state emergency officials on hand but gives you an idea of where the bridge is, one of the busiest in the country. given idea of the scale. not going to show you the same shot from a different angle. get an idea of this angle how this looks and you might get a better shot at how this looked. 300 meters long, 96 tons. at that speed, just the impact on the bridge when it hits. those images hopefully giving you a better idea of what we

have seen on the ground. authorities had been warned by the crew of the ship they had effectively lost power. they gave a mayday call allowing authorities to react quickly. we also received audio released by the maryland transportation authority police dispatch. you could hear people talking about shutting the bridge moments before the crash. >> if we can stop traffic, make sure no one is on the bridge. i'm not sure if there is a crew out there -- we can g them off of the bridge temporarily. >> getting rap on the bridge -- traffic stop this time. once you get here, i will get workers on the key bridge -- >> the whole bridge just fell down. the whole bridge just collapsed.

>> that is correct -- >> do we know traffic will -- >> i cannot get to the other side. the bridge is down. we will have to get somebody on the others to stop traffic coming northbound. >> i'm holding all traffic northbound. >> such dramatic sound. you heard from those first calls into emergency authorities. saying the bridge is down. a shock to many we have spoken to. on the latest in the investigation, the national transportation safety board is holding a press conference talking about search and rescue operations. the chair of the board was speaking earlier. let's play a clip of what she said. >> at this time, i will have

more information tomorrow. we chose not to board the vessel today to allow some time for search and recovery, which we did not want to interfere with. th is the first and foremost, we have information, but we need to verify that information before i provide -- before i verify it. we will have that information tomorrow, or later tonight if you want to check with me. how critical will a voyage data recorder need to investigate this? it will be critical. it is a critical piece of our investigation. the queson is on dropping anchor and whether they did or did not, and the timing on that. at will be part of our investigation and timeline. i can provide more information in the coming days, but not today. >> that was from the press

conference of the national transportation safety board. there were speaking earlier. i want to bring in river were sod shingle -- rishaad singletary. object -- the baptist church that has been supporting rescue teams. tell us more about how you have been supporting these rescue teams. >> thank you for having me on. our church is about 500 feet away from the actual bridge. i have been out with the mayor of baltimore city and county executive trying to figure out how we can assist as faith communities, to help with the distress, the workers, and assisting with providing mental health services for community members who have been traumatized by this event. so we are going to have a virtual and in person prayer vigil at 5:00 p.m.

>> that is remarkable. 500 feet from the bridge. tell us how this has impacted you. >> personally, as the pastor of this community, i have several congregants who use this bridge every day to go to work, to come back from work. some of the individuals from our chur who use the bridge did not use it -- myself, our sons use the bridge to go back and forth from church to home. it is devastating. it is traumatic. i'm praying for those family members, those individuals who still might be lost at sea, and the men and women of law enforcement working tirelessly to make sure we get to the bottom of this. but it is very extremely a

traumatizing situation. >> i can't imagine. tell us how you think it will impact your city going forward. just the infrastructure, but this community you are talking about. >> absolutely. our church sits in a community called turner station. it is a predominantly african-american community, impoverished community, as well. we are hoping even though this travesty has happened, just feet away from this community, that it will stay local -- our local and federal partners will assist not only in rebuilding the bridge, but rebuilding this community. this is definitely a community that watched the bridge being developed. and sadly this morning watching it fall to its demise. >> that is right. you said you were helping serve some of the rescue and search

people helping at this hour. tell us how you have been serving them and what since you've gotten from them. >> we have a great relationship with the maryland department of transportation authority chief joseph scott and our baltimore county chief of police robert mcculloch. this has been very traumatic for them as well. our police officers, law-enforcement, oversea highways and bridges. being able to pray with them and offer the church as a safe place not only to pray, but for individuals who need an opportunity to get food, or need to use the sanctuary to sleep on our pews, whatever we can do to assist them, we are going to do that. and we are doing our best to make sure we are therefore them at this difficult time. >> we heard the mayor, the

governor speaking. the president talking about providing any and all federal aid. what do you think baltimore is going to need most? >> there are a few things we will need. there will be a need for food. i know there's going to be some mental health disparities we will need to address. i also know we are going to have to figure out how to support law enforcement and first responders. anything we can provide for them and the families who have to deal with such a traumatizing moment in their lives. we are looking for some assistance in this direct community as it relates to infrastructure. we've had flooding in our community for over 20 years. hopefully as we can rebuild this dominant bridge in our city

there will be opportunities we can work together to figure out how to serve the people that have been in this community for years who are now affected by this tragedy. >> thank you so much, we wish you and your community all the best. thanks for joining us. as we are on the south side where the bridge collapsed is, rescue operations are ongoing. we have heard more from the ntsb that singapore officials will be joining here tomorrow. it was a single poor flagship. and they said nautical engineers will be here looking through the safety history and record of the ship, structural engineers, an bridge experts. it shows you they are bringing expertise from all sides to see what happened. this has the search for the six

missing people goes on. we hope to have updates soon. but for now, back to you. >> thank you very much. still to come. i will talk to an american civil engineering expert and ask why the bridge in baltimore collapsed so quickly. and two ministers have quit the government they already said they would not run in the next general election. what this means for rishi sunak. around the world and across the u.k., this is the world today on bbc news. ♪

♪ >> let's take you back to our top story. let's take you to the live pictures coming in on the world today. these are from the bridge in baltimore. you can see in the distance, the bridge in the water. much of it is submerged underwater.

speaking to a steal expert, he was telling me it will take a long time to remove what is under the water to allow ships to pass through. this is a really important thorough fare for big cargo ships coming in and out of the u.s. let's take you to another angle. a close-up of the shi you can see the sheer size of it. it is absolutely enormous. hundreds of the cargo containers on it. you can see the area where it plowed into the bridge, causing the bridge to collapse into the river after the container crashed into it. the incident happened at about half past 1:00 in the morning. let's take a look at some pictures coming in. these are from the area. you can see the camera on the back of a speedboat potentially taking live pictures.

it is about 20 past 3:00 in the afternoon in baltimore. hearing from the chair of the national transportation safety board, the investigation is at very early stages. the rescue operation really is still in the hands of the u.s. coast guard, which is what she said to me earlier. let's ask this question earlier. how is it a ship of this stature, which has been standing since 1977, was damaged, destroyed, and crumbled into the water so easily? let's speak to andy hermon. the past president of the american society of civil engineers and a bridge expert to -- who joins us now. thank you for joining us on the why did the bridge collapsed so easily? >> this bridge is a continuous cantilever trust.

i think it is the second-largest one in the u.s., may be the third largest in this type of the world. it is continuous, which means each of these components, the center span and side spans are connected. when the ship came in, it took out one of the main peers. the spans that were rested on it came down quickly. but since it was continuous and connected to the other span, that also lost support and it came down. >> are you saying if the ship had hit any other part of the bridge, it would not have collapsed in that way? >> if it had hit the other main pier in the center, it probably would have fallen down similarly. i'm not sure. >> why is it this bridge was constructed in this way? it feels to me it makes it quite vulnerable or not? >> when they designed the truss,

making it continuous allows em all to share in the load as the truck drive across the bridge. it is a more efficient way. >> you are saying that they tried to save money when they built the bridge? and in doing so did not build a bridge that was as sturdy as they could have had? >> not necessarily. this bridge was put into operation in 1977. and designed to the standards of that day. in 1980, we had the sunshine skyway bridge inlorida, which was a similar bridge, it was hit by a large freighter and came down similarly. but that was 1980. in the 1990's, the 2000's, they did a study on how to protect bridges from vessel collisions. in the 1990's, they came out with a guy specification. our goat -- code is made by the

hot -- highway of transportation officials. the guide was updated in the 2000 and was not part of the code. now when you designed a bridge of this magnitude, you have to take more of the vessel size, navigation channel, the mass of the vessels. you have to look at how to harden the bridge, either by the peers themselves, or put a protection aroundt. or you can go back to what they did for the replacement of the sunshine skyway bridge by putting an island in front of it so any freighter would ground itself and dissipate energy before it hit the p or. >> andy hermon, the ase past president and expert on bridges. great to have you on the show. we will leave this story momentarily. i think in a few minutes, we are expecting the governor of the

region to give a press conference. we are expecting that at about half past 7:00 london time. half past 3:00 local time. marilyn governor wes moore scheduled to take a conference. let's take you now to a political story happening. two government ministers announced resignations. it has triggered a reshuffle for prime minister rishi sunak. robert halford has quit as skills, apprenticeship, and higher education minister. the outgoing mp has stepd down as armed forces minister. both will stand down as mp in the next election. let's speak to our political correspondent who is in westminster. what does this meafor rishi sunak? >> ordinarily when you lose two ministers, it is cause for concern. don't think that is the case this evening.

he already said he was going to step down at the general election, due by the end of the year. robert houston, a bit of surprise. he decided he wanted to stand down at the general election. he also decided he wanted to resign that post. both of these individuals made it clear they are fully supportive of the prime minister, rishi sunak, and his program for government. no sense here of resignations because of disagreements or on anything really. this brings the number of concerns for mps who standdown to 63. not necessarily out of the ordinary, given the last general election, 2019, 5 years ago. this happens before general elections. there's been a sign that some of them look at the opinions right now and are thinking they might lose their seats.

perhaps a factor in robert helfand and james peavy's thinking. >> thank you very announcer: funding for presentation of th program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. bdo. accountants and advisors. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive.