In a harrowing audio recording, Baltimore officials can be heard rushing to stop traffic on the Francis Scott Key Bridge just seconds before it collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship.

“There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic,” an official can be heard saying.

Moments later, another official reports, “The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever… everybody. The whole bridge just collapsed.”

The ship’s crew issued a mayday call just before the crash, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

The crash occurred in the middle of the night, long before the busy morning commute on the bridge that stretches 1.6 miles and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.

Six people are still unaccounted for, and state officials are using sonar detection devices to search for them in the water. The six missing were men who were working to fill potholes on the bridge when disaster struck.

President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency and promised federal aid, saying, “To the people of Baltimore – We’re with you, we’re going to stay with you as long as it takes.”

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, with officials saying it appears to have been an accident and not a terrorist attack.

The collapse has created a logistical nightmare for the East Coast, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore and snarling cargo and commuter traffic for months, if not years, to come.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)