Baltimore bridge collapse: Chilling audio narrates how cops scrambled to halt traffic

A chilling audio recording has emerged in whichBaltimore officials can be heard rushing and making last-minute efforts to stop the traffic heading towards the bridge, seconds before it collapsed after it was hit by a cargo ship.

The crew on the ship gave a mayday call moments before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday morning (Mar 27) which allowed the traffic authorities to stop the vehicles, said Maryland's Governor Wes Moore.

Nearly 90 seconds after the crew's mayday call, another person was heard reporting the collapse of the bridge in the audio.

"I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side, hold all traffic on the Key Bridge," one person was heard saying.

"There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we've got to stop all traffic. The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever … everybody. The whole bridge just collapsed," they added.

Meanwhile, another person was saying, "I can't get to the other side, sir. The bridge is down."

Governor hails traffic cops as 'heroes'

The ship hit one of the supports of the bridge which led to the collapse of the structure. Within seconds, it tumbled into the water and became a shocking spectacle which was captured on the camera and circulated on social media.

Governor Moore said that the vessel caught fire and thick, black smoke was seen rising from it. He added that although the ship was heading towards the bridge at "a very, very rapid speed", the authorities got enough time to stop the cars from going over the bridge.

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

Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, "Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie", and called it "an unthinkable tragedy."

Sonar detection devices are being used by state officials to search for crew members who fell into thewater while they were working to repair potholes present on the 185-foot bridge when it collapsed.

Watch:Baltimore Bridge Collapse: All-Indian crew aboard vessel that collided with Baltimore bridge safe

A state of emergency was declared by Governor Moore after the catastrophic collision. The ship, the Singaporean-flagged Dali, had started to sail 20 minutes before the incident.

The officials were able to rescue two workers while six others are missing and have been presumed dead.

(With inputs from agencies)