Salvage crews have begun removing containers from the ship that collapsed Baltimore’s Key bridge

Rescue crews on Sunday began removing containers from the deck of the cargo ship that crashed and collapsed on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, an important step toward fully reopening one of the main routes of navigation of the country.

Removal of containers from the Dali Bridge would continue this week, weather permitting, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command.

Crews were making progress toward removing sections of the deck that are on the ship’s bow to eventually allow it to move, the release said.

A total of 32 ships used temporary channels on either side of the wreck, officials said.

“The Unified Command is simultaneously progressing its primary lines of effort to clear enough debris to open the canal to more commercial traffic,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell said in the release.

The Dali has been stuck under mangled steel in the Patapsco River since it slammed into the bridge on March 26, killing six workers.

President Joe Biden on Friday took a helicopter tour of the twisted metal remains and the mass of construction and salvage equipment trying to clear the wreckage.

The president also met for more than an hour with the families of the victims.

Eight workers – immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – were filling potholes on the bridge when it was struck and collapsed in the middle of the night.

Two men were rescued and the bodies of three others were found in the following days.

The search for the other victims continued.

Authorities have established a temporary alternative channel for ships involved in cleaning up the debris.

The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access canal for container barges and some ships carrying cars and farm equipment by the end of April, and restore normal capacity to the Port of Baltimore by April 31. May, the White House said.

More than 50 rescue divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway.