Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called on CNN and other media outlets on Tuesday to stop showing video footage of the early-morning collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
"I'm going to be the first to ask that CNN and everyone else stop showing the video," Scott said, according to the Washington Examiner. "No one needs to see a possibility of their family member being severely injured or otherwise over and over and over again."
"It's just traumatizing our community," he added.
The bridge snapped and collapsed after a cargo ship that had "lost propulsion" rammed into one of the steel truss bridge's supports around 1:30 a.m., plunging an unknown number of people and vehicles into the chilly Patapsco River below.
"We have an unspeakable tragedy," Scott said. "We know that this vessel struck the bridge, and the bridge collapsed. There were individuals working on the bridge at that time. There are cars in the water. Our fire department has confirmed that as they lead this ongoing search-and-rescue mission through sonar."
Right now, Baltimore's focus is on reaching the individuals who are in the water, the mayor said. According to reports, two people had been rescued, but Fire Chief James Wallace said authorities "may be looking for upwards of seven people." It was not clear if the two rescued were included in the figure cited by the fire chief.
"We know that there's going to be questions about the bridge, and traffic, and the port, but right now, everyone in this world's focus should be about these souls and those families who are wondering if these people are going to walk back in the door after they walked out to work last night," Scott said.
According to video posted to social media, the bridge — a critical span for East Coast shipping — broke apart like a toy and dropped into the water in a matter of seconds.
"Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that," Scott said. "It looked like something out of an action movie."
Water temperature was approximately 47 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn on Tuesday, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data buoy.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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