Two people have been rescued. Search parties are still searching for more people lost in the collapse. The collision happened at 1:30 am, so hopes of finding the other lost people are fading.
The crew of the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore lost power and issued a mayday in the moments before the disaster, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
The container ship Dali sent the mayday in time for authorities to stop traffic from entering the bridge, limiting the number of vehicles involved in what officials have called a "mass casualty event."
"We're thankful that between the mayday and the collapse that we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge," Moore said.
Authorities said a crew of eight construction workers were on the bridge, in addition to any traffic at the time of the collapse.
Search and rescue operations pulled two workers from the water, one in critical condition who was hospitalized. Efforts to locate the other six are ongoing.
Authorities said that sonar had detected cars in the water, which is about 50 feet deep. The temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn on Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As civilizations collapse, there are disasters and misfortunes. People in a collapsing civilization often think the gods have turned against them.
But usually it's because of the choices that civilization made before its collapse.