clearance operations have begun

Removing the debris and freeing the container ship that caused the accident are a priority for the authorities. Maritime transport is at a standstill in this port, one of the busiest in the United States.

A huge construction site is opening in the ruins of the Francis-Scott-Key bridge, in Baltimore (United States). A first piece of the structure which collapsed during the night of March 26, after a collision with a cargo ship, was cut out and moved, the American Coast Guard declared on Sunday March 31, thus marking the start of the clearing operations.

The container ship involved in the spectacular accident is stuck on site, embedded in part of the collapsed bridge, blocking maritime transport in one of the country’s busiest ports.

The bodies of two people killed in the collapse of the structure have been found, while four others, still missing, are now considered dead.

No date for the reopening of the channel

A video released by authorities on Saturday showed workers cutting metal from a bridge beam. A first piece then had to be lifted by a crane, then transferred to a boat, before being transported to a storage site.

Since the search stopped, clear the bridge and free the container ship, named Dalíare a priority for the authorities. “Progress is starting to be made” despite “an extremely complicated situation”, Wes Moore, the governor of the state of Maryland, where Baltimore is located, welcomed Sunday on the CNN channel.

“This is not only important for Baltimore workers, but for our national supply chain,” American Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg said on CBS on Sunday, specifying that he did not know when the channel could be reopened to maritime transport.