Recovery and salvage missions were previously called off due to water temperatures and other hazards, but divers “remain on standby”.
At a press conference on Saturday, Maryland Governor Wes Moore told reporters: “Right now, the conditions make it unsafe for rescue divers. But as soon as those conditions change, Colonel [Roland] Butler has assured me that those rescue divers will be going right back in the water.”
It comes after enormous cranes arrived in Baltimore to help clear the wreckage, which officials say is an essential step before recovery efforts to find the missing construction workers.
One of the cranes, the Chesapeake 1000, is capable of lifting 1,000 tonnes — but the bridge is estimated to weigh around three or four times that, so it will need to be cut into sections, Maryland governor Wes Moore said. The first crane lift of debris was due to take place on Saturday.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden said on Friday he will go to Baltimore next week.
He also announced he has approved $60m in initial aid to rebuild the bridge.
Construction worker ‘miraculously’ survives Baltimore bridge collapse without knowing how to swim
A construction worker who was part of the team on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed early on Tuesday morning in Baltimore, miraculously survived the incident despite not knowing how to swim.
Julio Cervantes’ and seven other workers from Mexico and Central America were taking a break inside their cars just moments before the bridge collapsed around 1:30am.
Mr Cervantes and another man were rescued the same day. The remains of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, were recovered by searchers.
He was taken to the hospital with a chest wound and was released the same day
“My husband doesn’t know how to swim. It is a miracle he survived,” the wife of Cervantes, who did not wish to reveal her name, told NBC.
Baltimore mayor: ‘Right pace’ is needed to reach our goals
Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott also used a running metaphor to describe recovery efforts at the Francis Scott Key bridge, saying that the “right pace” was needed.
“I’m a runner, and I will say it like this. The winner of the marathon or the 5k is never the person who starts out the fastest,” he said.
“In fact, in my experience, those people end up last or not finishing the race at all. The winner always has the right pace and finishes with a strong kick. That will be all of us when we celebrate the reopening of the channel and the reopening of the brace in the future.
“We will all be exhausted, but it will be worth it because we will have achieved our goals the right way and together. Doing it that way, is going to make the process smoother and faster in the long run, and that’s our ultimate goal.”
First crane lift of debris to take place on Saturday
Authorities say they intend to conduct their first cran-lifts of debris from the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse on Saturday.
One of the cranes brought to the crash site, the Chesapeake 1000, is capable of lifting 1,000 tonnes — but the bridge is estimated to weigh around three or four times that, so it will need to be cut into sections, Maryland governor Wes Moore said.
At a press conference on Saturday, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said: “I’m really proud to announce that the governor said we’re going to conduct our first lift today on a piece of a portion of the bridge just north of that deep draft shipping channel.
“And we’re we will continue planning efforts for once we get that clear to open that up for tug and barge traffic to come into the Port of Baltimore, but that’s going to take some more time.
“And this is a step in that process, much like when you run a marathon, you’ve got to take the first few steps. We’re taking those few first few steps, and will continue to get the resources in that will propel us to the finish line, but we’re working to get there as fast as we can.
“We’re going to open it as soon as possible and we’re gonna continue to do it safely.”
Did ‘dirty fuel’ contribute to the Baltimore bridge collapse?
Investigators are examining the possible role of “dirty fuel” in the cargo ship collision which destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The Dali collided with the four-lane road bridge at 1.28am on Tuesday as it sailed out of the Maryland harbour.
Minutes before the collision, the propulsion system on board the vessel went down, alarms sounded, and the vessel began veering towards a support for the bridge.
At 1.26am, the captain called for crew to try to restart the engine and steer hard to the left. A minute later, he ordered them to drop anchor, and issued an emergency radio call to transport authorities on the bridge.
However the Dali, 1,000 ft long and 95,000 tons when empty, would have been virtually impossible to stop. It hit the 1.6mile bridge at 1.28am, causing its immediate collapse into the Patapsco River.
Baltimore, Maryland, is set to receive $60 million in federal funds for rebuilding efforts following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The tragic incident has left four construction workers missing and presumed dead, prompting ongoing recovery and salvage operations in the area. Rescue divers are preparing to return to the waters surrounding the collapsed bridge as soon as conditions improve. Despite facing challenges such as water temperatures and hazards, divers are on standby …
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