Truck recovered from water – report
A truck has been recovered from the water, AP reported, citing a law enforcement official.
At least one vehicle remains hanging from the metal, according to a memo by homeland security, it said.
Key events
Marylandâs governor, Wes Moore, said it was âimperativeâ to get the port of Baltimore up and running as quickly as possible, saying its closure would have an economic impact on everyone from car dealers to farmers.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is disrupting a vital shipping port which Moore said was responsible for 51m tonnes of foreign cargo.
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at a news conference, said the bridge collapse showed how migrant workers in the US often take risky jobs.
López Obrador confirmed that two of the missing workers were Mexican citizens. A third was rescued and is now safe, he said. He added:
This demonstrates that migrants go out and do risky jobs at midnight, and for this reason they do not deserve to be treated as they are by certain insensitive, irresponsible politicians in the United States.
Two Mexican workers missing after bridge collapse, says Mexico’s president
Mexicoâs president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has confirmed that three Mexican nationals were among the workers on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed.
Two of the Mexican workers are missing. The third was injured and rescued, he said.
López Obrador, speaking at a press conference today, said he would not reveal the names of the workers because their families had asked authorities to handle that information with caution.
The Maryland flag has been lowered to half staff, the stateâs governor Wes Moore has said.
Posting to social media, Moore said âthe hearts of every Marylander are with the families of those affectedâ by the collapse of the bridge.
The Maryland flag has been lowered to half staff.
Our entire state is grateful for the tireless work of our first responders and everyone who has stepped up to serve in the past 24 hours. Maryland is strong and has risen to meet this moment as the work continues today.
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) March 27, 2024
The hearts of every Marylander are with the families of those affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
We have spoken to the families, prayed with them, and assured them that our state will mobilize every resource to bring them closure.
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) March 27, 2024
Tess Owen
Far-right commentators have declared Tuesdayâs dramatic collapse of Baltimoreâs Francis Scott Key Bridge a âblack swan eventâ, a niche phrase that has recently captured the imaginations of âdeep stateâ conspiracy theorists.
âNothing is safe,â wrote manosphere influencer Andrew Tate on X, about six hours after a container ship collided with the bridge. âBlack Swan Event imminent.â
âThis is a BLACK SWAN event,â asserted Gen Mike Flynn, Donald Trumpâs former national security adviser, on X. Others, including Benny Johnson, Laura Loomer and some verified QAnon-affiliated accounts, also latched on to the âblack swan eventâ language, many claiming that the collapse was terrorism related.
âLooks deliberate to me. A cyber-attack is probable. WW3 has already started,â wrote Infowarsâ Alex Jones on X.
Officials do not believe the said that the crash was terrorism-related or intentional; some theorized that the ship âlost propulsionâ, causing it to veer off course.
The phrase âblack swan eventâ was popularized in 2001 by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a Lebanese American statistician and essayist, to describe unforeseen happenings in the financial world with cascading consequences, such as the 2000 dot-com crash. He later extended his metaphor in the context of historical or significant national security events.
In recent months, conspiracy theorists have hijacked the concept and folded it into deep state narratives, which posit that a clandestine network of powerful individuals are secretly running the US government.
Maryland lawmakers are drafting emergency legislation to help workers affected by the bridge collapse.
Maryland state senator Bill Ferguson, in a social media post, said he is proposing income replacement for the thousands of workers who ârely on daily operations at Port of Baltimore to put food on the tableâ. He added:
The human cost of lives lost yesterday is overwhelming and tragic. The economic and stability loss to the thousands impacted in the days ahead cannot be understated.
Over 15,000 in the Balt region rely on daily operations at Port of Baltimore to put food on the table.
Today, with Del. @LukeClippinger and colleagues representing Port, we are drafting an emergency bill to provide for income replacement for workers impacted by this travesty.
— Bill Ferguson (@SenBillFerg) March 27, 2024
Truck recovered from water – report
A truck has been recovered from the water, AP reported, citing a law enforcement official.
At least one vehicle remains hanging from the metal, according to a memo by homeland security, it said.
Maryland governor Wes Moore said that the economic consequences of the bridge collapse âcannot be overstated and not just for the state of Maryland.â
Moore told Today:
Weâre talking about what this means for the entire country. Weâre talking about a port that brings on more cars more light trucks, more agricultural equipment than any other port in this country. So this is not just going to impact Maryland. Weâre talking about farmers in Kentucky. Weâre talking about auto dealers in Michigan.
The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, said he was able to spend time with the family members of the construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Speaking to Today, Moore said he made a commitment to those families that âwe would put every possible resourceâ towards a search and rescue mission, adding:
Now that weâve transitioned to a recovery mission, Iâm going to make sure that weâre going to put every possible resource to bring a sense of closure to these families.
He also paid tribute to the first responders who saved âcountlessâ lives by getting cars off the bridge, adding that he was âincredibly thankfulâ for their work.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joins TODAY and says he was able to spend time with the families of victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, six construction workers who are now presumed dead. pic.twitter.com/zSXoXpY59q
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 27, 2024
The city of Baltimore remains in a state of emergency as rescue efforts continue for the six missing construction workers, Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott said.
Speaking to CNN, Scott said:
Thereâs still a state of emergency. We will have that for the foreseeable future. This is an unthinkable tragedy that impacts our city and our community and our state in so many different and ways.
He acknowledged the work ahead to reopen the port of Baltimore, but said his concentration remains on the recovery efforts.
Weâre all, right now, still focused on recovery. Thatâs what weâre talking about today â recovering those who we lost.
Mexico confirms some of the missing workers are Mexican
The Mexican embassy in Washington has confirmed that some of the six missing construction workers are Mexican.
In a social media post late Tuesday, the embassy said:
There are six workers missing, including Mexican, Guatemalan and Salvadoran people. The authorities will resume search work tomorrow.
ð¨Actualización relacionada con el colapso del puente en Baltimore, MD:
â Hay seis trabajadores desparecidos, incluidas personas mexicanas, guatemaltecas y salvadoreñas. Las autoridades reanudarán mañana los trabajos de búsqueda. #EstamosParaServir
— Consulmex Washington (@ConsulMexWas) March 27, 2024
