BALTIMORE (dpa-AFX) - The search for the missing persons continued on Wednesday after the bridge collapse in the US city of Baltimore. From around 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. CET), divers were to continue their operation at the scene of the accident, the police announced at a press conference on Tuesday evening (local time). However, the authorities assumed that no missing persons were still alive.

On Tuesday evening, the US Coast Guard had announced that the search for survivors would be suspended due to the low water temperature and darkness. The current and debris in the water were dangerous for the rescue teams. Only the bodies of the six missing people are still being searched for.

According to Maryland State Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, eight construction workers were on the bridge repairing potholes at the time of the accident. Two people were rescued on Tuesday, but there was still no trace of six others. According to official information, they include people of Latin American origin.

Two Guatemalans, aged 26 and 35, have been missing since the accident, according to the Central American country's foreign ministry. The immigrant organization Casa said that one of its members was also missing. He was a father of three from El Salvador who had gone to work on Monday evening and had not returned home.

CNN reported, citing the Mexican consul in Washington, Rafael Laveaga, that Mexican citizens were also missing. It is not known how many. "We know that our people are affected," Laveaga told journalists. "They are also the ones who will rebuild the bridge - the Latinos."

Meanwhile, investigations into the cause of the accident were underway. On Wednesday, a team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to board the ship that rammed the bridge on Tuesday night for the first time, the board's chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, told CNN. She had previously stated that the electronics were of particular interest, especially the so-called ship's data recorder.

The engineer and structural engineer Matthew Roblez told CNN that the collapse site and the remains of the bridge must now be treated like a crime scene. Its individual parts would be taken out of the water one by one to investigate why and how the collapse occurred.

The container ship had hit the bridge "in exactly the "right" place", CNN quoted Roblez as saying. If the ship had managed to avoid the support pillar, there would probably not have been a complete collapse. The bridge was built in 1977, long before there were guidelines for collisions. "That makes me think about how many other bridges out there are vulnerable," Roblez said. According to CNN, many bridges have so-called fenders to protect the supports. However, the Francis Scott Key Bridge did not have them.

It will take months just to salvage the parts, Roblez said, and about two years to rebuild. The costs for this would be around 500 million dollars (a good 460 million euros). US President Joe Biden had announced that the reconstruction would be financed with money from the federal government.

The port of Baltimore is one of the most important maritime ports of call in the USA - especially for the import and export of cars and small trucks, said Biden. Around 850,000 vehicles are shipped through it every year. Around 15,000 jobs depend on it.

Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg announced that supply chain problems were being prepared for. These affect not only the region around Baltimore, "but the entire US economy". The responsible authorities suspended shipping traffic to the port until further notice, and larger freighters were diverted to a port in the neighboring state of Virginia.

On Tuesday night, a huge container ship rammed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The ship's crew had made an emergency call before the collision, which may have saved lives - as officials on land stopped traffic and prevented more cars from reaching the bridge. Nevertheless, large parts of the bridge collapsed as steel girders weighing several tons were bent like thin wire by the enormous force.

According to the authorities, there was no evidence of a deliberate act or even a terrorist attack. President Biden spoke of a "terrible accident". According to initial findings, a problem with the power supply could have been the cause. According to information from Singapore, there was probably a "temporary loss of propulsion", which is why the ship was unable to maintain its course.

The city of Baltimore has a population of around 570,000 and has been notorious for its high crime rate in recent years. The well-known television series "The Wire" deals with crime in the city./alz/DP/mis