Largest crane to remove bridge wreckage
THE largest crane on the US East coast is being transported to Baltimore to remove wreckage of the collapsed bridge.
Debris has halted a search for four missing workers.
The crane, able to lift up to 1,000 tonnes, will be one of at least two used to clear the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Dali cargo ship that hit it.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the “best minds in the world” are working on plans for the removal. The
US Army Corps of Engineers for the Baltimore district and the navy are mobilising major resources to clear the waterway.
Mr Moore said: “This is not just about Maryland.
“This is about the nation’s economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in America.”
He added he was grateful to the Biden administration for approving $60million in immediate aid. President Joe Biden said the federal government will pay the cost of rebuilding the bridge.
Some 32 members of the Army Corps of Engineers were surveying the scene of the collapse and 38 navy contractors were working on the salvage operation, officials said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, divers recovered the bodies of two men from a pick-up truck in the Patapsco River near the bridge’s middle span.
But now officials say the wreckage needs clearing before anyone can reach the bodies of four workers.
The victims were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge.
At least eight people went into the water when the ship struck the bridge, and two were rescued on Tuesday.
The collision and collapse appears to have been an accident, officials said.
Authorities had enough time to stop vehicle traffic but did not get a chance to alert the construction crew.