BALTIMORE — Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge wasn't just a landmark, but a major thoroughfare for commuters over the past four decades. The bridge ran along a portion of Interstate 695 near the Port of Baltimore. Every day, 35,000 people drove over it, and more than 100 vessels passed under it.
Just 24 hours after the collapse, the full scope of the damage is just starting to come into view. Throughout the day Tuesday, first we saw how the initial shock. That shock gave way to grief for the lost workers who were on the bridge at the time. As we got up close by boat, we realized how devastating the bridge collapse is for Baltimore, and the region as a whole.
Before the sun came up on Tuesday in Curtis Bay, Maryland, Donald Heinbuch woke up to a loud crash.
"The house shook, then there was rolling thunder that lasted a number of seconds," he said.
A retired firefighter, Heinbuch says he knew something had gone horribly wrong. He just didn't know what.
A cargo ship known as the Dali destroyed in five seconds what took five years to build. It left a mangled mess of bridge and road in the harbor. A full-scale search and rescue mission for workers began.
"I decided to go up to the command post to see what was going to happen and I was very impressed to see the command structure being set up and all that. All the different resources being called in," Heinbuch said.
Local, state and federal rescue teams rushed to the bridge workers' aid. That's where we found Jesús Compos. He was doing work on the bridge for a construction company.
"Recently, I was moved to the morning shift," he said through an interpreter. "They stayed on the night shift. So I could have been with them at the time."
We got a closer look at the search and rescue operations on the water aboard a crab boat in the harbor. From the water, we got a much better view of the disaster, as search and rescue operations were winding down.
By the afternoon, the Coast Guard helicopters and boats slowed their searches. The search and rescue operations shifted to a recovery effort, and the six workers were presumed dead.
Back on land, Compos grappled with the tragedy.
"I am sad and devastated. They are my friends and we have been coworkers for a long time. It's just heartbreaking," he said.
The collapse has left everyone in shock. Heinbuch is left to sum up the feelings of the region.
"It's a disaster. It really is. I don't think it's really sunk in yet for some people," he said.
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