Washington: Cleanup efforts were set to begin Thursday at the site of the catastrophic collapse of a bridge over Baltimore Harbor, as authorities warned of extensive work before the major US port could reopen.
Two cranes have arrived to begin the complex operation of removing the twisted steel remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, from where it fell 185 feet (56 meters) into the Patapsco River after impact – blocking the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. massive freighter early Tuesday morning.
“We are moving heaven and earth” to remove the debris and get the mall up and running, senior White House official Tom Perez told MSNBC.
Officials warned there was trouble ahead as efforts to recover the bodies of the four men still missing were called off late Wednesday when it was decided it was too dangerous to send divers into the wreckage.
“We are … incredibly sensitive to the idea that this is also a resting place for four fathers, four brothers and four sons,” Perez added.
The missing men, all immigrants from Latin America, are believed to have been killed when the Singaporean-flagged 1,000-foot container ship Dali lost power and hit a bridge pillar.
Almost the entire steel structure, which is passed by tens of thousands of motorists every day, collapsed in a matter of seconds.
The workers were part of an eight-man road repair crew that worked through the night. Two were rescued shortly after the collapse and two bodies were found Wednesday.
Area residents held a vigil in a nearby park Thursday morning, local media reported, while the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs set up a relief fund to raise money for the victims’ families.
Baltimore bridge, port recovery will be ‘very long road’
