Heroic construction workers stopped traffic before bridge collapse, 6 still missing

In a press conference Moore stated, “The workers on the bridge halted traffic right before impact." Six workers on the bridge are still missing according to the Associated Press.

“They saved lives in a very, very heroic way," he added, referring to the construction workers.

They were repairing potholes on the bridge when the collapse took place. Terrorism was ruled out as the cause and it was most likely an accident, according to preliminary reports.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told reporters of the update in a news conference on Tuesday, "The crew that was out there working was basically repairing potholes" and was not working on anything structurally related to the bridge.

He went on to say that one of the workers had been found after the collapse of the bridge.

At around 1:30 am on Tuesday a ship labeled "Dali" that was managed by the Singaporean company Synergy Marine Group crashed into the bridge. The vessel is owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd.

Prior to the crash into the bridge, the ship's power appeared to fail and the crew aboard reported that they "lost control" as well as the "propulsion" of the ship leading up to the incident.

Initial reports indicated that at least 7 vehicles fell into the water during the collapse including a large tractor trailer-sized vehicle, however it was later learned that no cars were traveling on the bridge when it fell into the water.