Police audio from tragic Baltimore bridge collapse reveals exact moment authorities reacted when it fell

Police audio from the Baltimore bridge collapse has been released, revealing the exact moment the cargo ship hit.

Emergency services were called to the Francis Scott Key Bridge area at 1.30am on Tuesday (26 March), after the bridge was struck by a container ship.

In footage released online, audio captures the moment in which officers from the Maryland Transport Authority Police Dispatch and Response try to stop traffic from entering the bridge.

Just moments before the container ship hits, officers can be heard discussing whether there were any workers on the bridge at that time.

While authorities were able to quickly prevent cars from entering, there are believed to have been eight construction workers mending potholes on the structure when it fell.

"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 — there is a ship approaching that has lost their steering. So until you get that under control, we got to stop all traffic," one officer says.

"... Is there a crew working on the bridge right now?

"If we can stop traffic, just make sure no-one is on the bridge right now. I'm not sure where, there's a crew up there you might want to notify, whoever the foreman is, see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily."

Moments later, one officer can be heard saying: "The whole bridge just fell down!... The whole thing just collapsed."

Two people were pulled from the river alive after the incident, but officials have since announced that two bodies have been found in a red pickup truck located in the water.

The two men have been identified as a 35-year-old and a 26-year-old; Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, of Mexico, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, of Guatemala.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Sadly, the remaining missing workers are presumed dead, officials have said.

Among the people who are still missing is dad-of-three Miguel Luna, and dad Maynor Suazo.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala has also stated that a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula is also unaccounted for, while Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced that a Mexican national is among those missing.

The 22 people onboard the cargo ship Dali came away from the disaster unharmed.

Authorities are now focusing on removing the debris from the water so that divers can resume their search.

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