After 16 hours of search and rescue by air and sea, hope was extinguished of finding survivors. This is now a mission to recover the bodies of those unaccounted for. They lie most likely beneath the mangled metal of the collapsed bridge.

Based on the length of time that we've gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that we've put into it, the water temperature that at this point, we do not We don't believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive.

We're hoping to put divers in the water and begin a more detailed search to do our very best to recover those six missing people.

Yo, what the fuck? From On the banks of the Patapsco River, people watched in horror. A cargo ship had slammed into one of the bridge's vital support pillars, collapsing it on impact. People gathered to see the destruction for themselves, struggling to fathom the loss. Jim's house overlooks the bridge. He was woken by the noise of the impact.

The house shook a little bit, and at first I thought it was a Sonic boom from an airplane. I've never heard it sound quite like it. It lasted for 6 to 10 seconds, and then just indescribable.

All those unaccounted for are maintenance workers from Mexico and Central America, Sky News understands. They were fixing potholes on the bridge. Jose works for the same company.

Yes, my friends were working there. It's very hard.

Have you been able to find out any news about them?

A supervisor called me in the morning. They had rescued one of my colleagues, but he was in a coma.

The ship had departed Baltimore Harbor. It was half an hour into a 27 day journey to Sri Lanka when it plowed into the bridge.

The crew aboard this vessel made a mayday call just minutes before impact, saying the boat had lost power and warning of a potential disaster. That gave officials time to stem the flow of traffic on the bridge and presumably avoiding an even worse catastrophe.

This is what the bridge looked like before today. 31,000 vehicles crossed it every day. President Biden said federal government would pay for the reconstruction.

I'm directing my team to move heaven and earth, reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible.

Divers will return to this water at daybreak to resume the search this time to try and give some solace and answers to the victim's families. But with cold, dark water and dangerous debris, it will take time. Martha Kalnert, Sky News, Baltimore.