Bystander video shows moment ship hits Baltimore bridge: ‘No way … I just witnessed that’

(NEXSTAR) – Dramatic video taken by a bystander near the Baltimore harbor shows the moment a cargo ship struck a support pillar under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending it plunging into the water.

In the video, two witnesses can be heard shouting in disbelief as the bridge crumbled.

‘Yo, what the f—?” one of the witnesses says. “No way in hell I just witnessed that. No way. The Key Bridge! The Francis Scott Key Bridge just got hit by a cargo ship!”

“Bro, that is a monumental moment,” one of the bystanders says.

“That is insane,” the other responds.

The cargo ship, known as the Dali, struck the bridge early Tuesday, destroying the steel structure in a matter of seconds. Search and rescue teams immediately launched efforts to locate survivors who may have plunged into the water during the collapse.

As of Tuesday afternoon, two people had been rescued, with six people still unaccounted for. The victims were said to be part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary. One of those rescued was taken to a hospital, he said.

Multiple vehicles also went into the water, although authorities said they did not believe anyone was inside.

President Joe Biden said he planned to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he intends for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.

“This is going to take some time,” Biden said. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.