Biden plans to visit Baltimore next week after devastating bridge collapse

BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden on Friday told reporters that he plans to head next week to Baltimore, the site of a deadly bridge collapse.

Speaking to reporters as he deplaned Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews following several campaign stops on Thursday and Friday in New York, the president said, "I'm going to Baltimore next week."

The Maryland city is the site of a major bridge collapse that happened in the early morning hours on Tuesday after the cargo ship Dali struck a support pillar on the Francis Scott Key bridge after losing power.

Six construction workers who were on the bridge as it was struck have died following the incident.

On Tuesday, Biden told reporters that he told Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other state officials that, "we’re going to send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency, and I mean all the federal resources. And we’re going to rebuild that port together."

He also called the incident a "terrible accident" and confirmed that there was no evidence that the ship intentionally struck the bridge.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was in Baltimore with Maryland officials on Tuesday. During a press briefing Wednesday at the White House told Buttigieg reporters, "From the very beginning [Biden] has been acting to make sure that we have a whole-of-government response to support the people of Baltimore."

On Thursday, Moore spoke about the six victims, saying, "They were fathers, they were sons, they were husbands, They were people who their families relied on."

"They had no idea that them going to work was gonna turn to a deadly occurrence," he said.