Baltimore Bridge Collapse Survivor Described Watching Ship Get Closer, Says Maryland Gov.
“It was a pretty remarkable conversation,” Gov. Wes Moore said before the search for more survivors ended Tuesday
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore had a "pretty remarkable conversation" with one of the survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse, he told CNN Tuesday.
In an interview with CNN's Phil Mattingly, Moore, 45, gave an update regarding one of the individuals who was safely recovered after a vessel struck the Francis Key Scott Bridge earlier that day around 1:30 a.m. local time.
“It was a pretty remarkable conversation,” Moore said of his phone call with the survivor, whose identity he did not share.
According to Moore, the individual said it was “But for the grace of God that he was there.”
“You know, he talked about the moments before and how close that he physically was by being captured. Because when you saw the moments between when the crew called for a mayday, and the moments that the bridge actually collapsed, we’re talking seconds,” the governor told CNN.
Moore stated that both he and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller had the opportunity to speak with the survivor.
“It really is pretty miraculous when you consider what happened and the speed and the intensity at which it happened last night,” he told CNN.
Mattingly then asked Moore if, given how fast the container ship had been traveling, the workers had a chance to see it coming before it struck the Francis Key Scott Bridge.
“The individual actually shared with me that he did see the ship — that it was coming,” Moore said.
The governor also added that the “brave” workers who regularly operate in “challenging conditions” see ships coming “every night.”
Related: Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Being Struck by Cargo Ship in 'Mass Casualty' Event
“That was a normal routine,” Moore said. “But when you see the size, the enormity of that kind of vessel, coming at the speed that it was at, and even the slightest adjustments that you saw here means the difference between a successful passage and catastrophe. And unfortunately, what we saw last night was a catastrophe.”
He added that it would be “a long journey” to recovery.
Earlier in the interview, Moore confirmed that there were “eight individuals who we knew were directly impacted.” He shared that in addition to the survivor he spoke with, another person was receiving treatment for their injuries, the remaining six “are unaccounted for.”
During a press conference Tuesday evening, officials said the search was being called off at 7:30 p.m. ET due to weather and water conditions and that the six others on the bridge at the time of the collapse were presumed dead.
"I'd like to announce tonight that based on the length of time that we've gone on this search, the extensive search efforts that we've put into it, the water temperature, at this point we do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive," U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath said.
During a press conference early Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the incident “an unthinkable and unspeakable tragedy.”
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Search teams continue working to verify the numbers of how many cars and people were on the bridge during the collapse, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy previously said.
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