A reporter has shared a harrowing thought about the cars that were lucky enough to make it across the doomed Baltimore bridge that collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was destroyed on Tuesday morning (26 March) when a cargo ship collided with it.
The ship - named Dali - left the Baltimore port at 12.45am local time and was headed for Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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However, the Dali appeared to lose power minutes before its devastating collision at 1.28am.
Rescue operations are still ongoing to locate missing people who were on the bridge when it collapsed.
At least eight people who were on the bridge had been declared missing at the time.
Two have since been recovered alive but sadly, two others were recovered from the water days later - later identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26.
"Based on the length of time that we've gone in this search... (and) the water temperature... at this point we do not believe that we're going to find any of these individuals still alive," Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said.
It remains to be seen whether more bodies will be recovered in the next few days, as the US government committed further resources to the crisis.
As devastating as the tragedy is, footage has emerged which showed how much worse it could have been.
A video has gone viral on TikTok, showing a local news reporter analysing some footage.
The footage in question was filmed a mere minute and 30 seconds before the boat collided with the bridge.
Narrating, the reporter pointed out two cars driving across the bridge: "These last two vehicles make their way across.
"Again, you have to wonder, as they're making their way across, if as they looked out to the right, if they saw the ship coming.
"If they knew it was going to collide. If they drove a little bit faster as a result."
The cars fortunately cross the bridge completely - missing the bridge's destruction by a mere 30 seconds.
People in the comments have reacted to the shocking footage.
One commenter wrote: "My daughter crossed that bridge less than an hour before."
As another said: "Imagine being those last 2 cars that safely made it past."
"Jesus.. can you imagine just making it over the bridge, only to look back to see it collapse. This is heartbreaking," a fellow viewer wrote.
The operation to locate the rest of the missing people who were on the bridge continues.
On X, President Joe Biden said: "Earlier today, I sat down with Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg and Vice Admiral Gautier to discuss the coordinated response to the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.
"We'll be with the people of Baltimore for as long as it takes."
Topics: US News, Baltimore bridge
Ben Thompson