A massive operational crane on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States on Friday (Mar 29) towered over Baltimore’s port in order to remove the debris days after a cargo vessel crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The crane arrived late on Thursday night (Mar 28) and will most likely begin pulling the wreckage out of the water on Saturday morning (Mar 30), said the US Coast Guard spokesperson Carmen Carver.
She further said that a second crane was on its way and is expected to arrive anytime soon.
Federal and state authorities are making concentrated efforts to clear the busy port and rebuild the bridge after the Dali, a gigantic container ship that had lost power, furrowed into a support column last week, demolishing the structure.
The incident left six workers presumed dead.
One Indian crew member ‘slightly injured,’ says External Affairs Ministry
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (Mar 28), reacting to the Baltimore Bridge Collapse incident said that one of the Indian crew members aboard the cargo ship was slightly injured.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, while addressing a weekly press briefing, said that the remaining 19 crew members were in good health and that the embassies were in close touch with them and the local authorities in the matter.
“Out of the 21 crew members, 20 are Indians. All of them are in good health. One of them is slightly injured. The stitches have been done,” Jaiswal said.
“Our Embassies are in close touch with the Indians on board and also the local authorities in this matter,” he added.
Two bodies recovered; retrieval efforts suspended
Meanwhile, divers on Wednesday (Mar 27) recovered the bodies of two of the six workers missing since the ship smashed into the bridge after being struck by a faltering cargo freighter.
The bodies, as per Reuters news agency, were found in the Patapsco River.
Maryland State Police Colonel Roland Butler confirmed that the bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of nearby Dundalk, were discovered in a red pickup truck.
The truck was submerged in about 25 feet (7.62 metres) near the mid-section of the fallen bridge.
According to officials, the six workers also included immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador.
(With inputs from agencies)
