Cranes to start removing wreckage from Baltimore bridge collapse

Construction cranes were deployed to Baltimore on Friday to remove the wreckage from Francis Scott Key Bridge, which partially collapsed Tuesday when a cargo ship collided with it.

Multiple cranes are placed in the Patapsco River, working on clearing debris and paving the way for the reconstruction and eventual reopening of the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub that has been shut down since the incident.

One of the biggest cranes on the East Coast is also expected to assist the recovery efforts and make it easier for rescue crews to locate missing victims, according to multiple media reports.  

The Dali, a Singapore-flagged container ship en route to Sri Lanka, lost power and slammed into the bridge around 1:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday morning, causing multiple construction workers to plunge into the river as the structure fell.

Eight workers were fixing potholes on the bridge during the incident. Two survived, the bodies of two others and a red pickup truck were recovered from the water, and four are still missing.

The U.S. government authorized $60 million in relief to Maryland as the state government works on repairing the bridge. Some have estimated that repairs could cost up to $2 billion, but the true cost of the repair is unclear.

President Biden said the federal government will “move heaven and earth” to make sure the bridge is rebuilt. 

“We need to clear the channel and open vessel traffic to the port because the health of the Maryland economy and the national economy depends on it,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) said during a press conference. 

Biden told reporters Friday that he would visit the city, alongside Moore, sometime next week.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been conducting a probe into the crash. 

The cargo ship had 23 people on board, including 21 crew members and two pilots. 

The Hill has reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment.