Crews turn to removing debris from ship’s deck during cleanup of Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — Rescue teams at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore are focusing on the thousands of tons of debris atop the Dali, a massive cargo ship that veered off course and caused the deadly disaster last month. .

An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel and concrete landed on the ship’s deck after it crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns and toppled the span, people said Friday. officials at a press conference. Crews will need to remove all of that before refloating the stationary ship and guiding it to Baltimore Harbor.

Officials posted aerial photos of the ship with an entire section of crushed roadway crushing its bow.

So far, cranes have lifted about 120 containers from the Dali, and 20 more remain before workers can build a staging area and begin removing the pieces of mangled steel and crumbling concrete. The ship was loaded with about 4,000 containers and was heading to Sri Lanka when it lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore.

Its owner recently launched proceedings requiring the owners of the cargo on board to cover part of the salvage costs.

Six members of a roadworks crew died in the collapse and two bodies are still missing.

“We cannot forget a true and hurtful fact,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at the news conference. “There are still two Marylanders lost and still waiting to be sent back to their families for closure.”

As rescue operations continue alongside federal and police investigations, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said rebuilding the bridge is an urgent priority. The 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) span connected working-class communities on either side of Baltimore Harbor, allowing steelworkers and longshoremen to easily cross the Patapsco River without passing through downtown and providing a vital route to East Coast truckers.

“It’s not about nostalgia. It’s a matter of necessity,” Moore said. “You can’t have a fully functioning Port of Baltimore without the Key Bridge.”

Moore said he met with leaders of both parties in Congress in Washington on Thursday to discuss funding for the bridge reconstruction. He said everyone seemed to understand its importance.

“I know we will succeed in this moment, because we choose to work together,” Moore said. “It was a strike for our country’s economy.”

President Joe Biden, who visited Baltimore in the wake of the collapse, also called on Congress to authorize the federal government to fund 100% of the cleanup and reconstruction. That would require bipartisan support, and some hardline Republicans in Congress have already proposed controversial demands to offset the funding.

In the meantime, crews are also working to reopen the port’s main channel, which has been blocked since the collapse. Using huge floating cranes, they transported about 1,300 tons of steel and counting, with no injuries to workers, officials said.

Efforts remain on track to open a temporary access channel that would allow most maritime traffic through the port to resume by the end of the month, restoring trade to one of the world’s busiest maritime transit hubs. popular on the East Coast.

In the meantime, unemployed port workers and others are receiving financial assistance through a network of local, state and federal programs.

“This is a community that was literally forged in steel,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, who grew up in suburban Dundalk, virtually in the shadow of the bridge. “That same steel resolve will help us meet this moment, reopen our port and rebuild the Key Bridge.” »

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Associated Press reporter Brian Witte contributed to this report from Annapolis.