Huge crane ready to clear Baltimore bridge debris
- The clearing of tonnes steel wreckage is expected to be a dangerous effort, complicated by the fact that the bodies of 4 workers have yet to be recovered
- The arrival of the floating crane – the largest on the US Eastern Seaboard and able to lift over 900 tonnes – will allow the work to begin
Three heavy lift floating cranes arrived in Baltimore harbour on Friday to begin what Maryland’s governor described as a “remarkably complex operation” to clear crumpled girders from a collapsed bridge taken down by an errant container ship.
“To see it up close, you realise just how daunting a task this is,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told a news conference after touring the disaster scene in a boat.
Migrant groups meantime honoured the six Latino construction workers who lost their lives when the Dali container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge long before dawn on Tuesday, toppling it with stunning speed. The six were part of a pothole repair team.
“I am here to say that we immigrants are essential,” said Erika Aleman, a construction worker from Honduras who lives in Baltimore.
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Six presumed dead after Singapore-flagged cargo ship topples Baltimore bridge
Vessel traffic through the busy Port of Baltimore has been suspended indefinitely, causing disruptions to trade spanning the globe, and Moore warned that recovery would be lengthy.