The body of the last missing worker has been recovered six weeks after a highway bridge collapsed in the US city of Baltimore. A container ship rammed the bridge and triggered the disaster.
After the collapse of the four-lane highway bridge in Baltimore, the sixth and final fatality has been rescued. This was announced by the responsible authorities. “With a heavy heart, today marks an important milestone in our rescue work,” said a police spokesman. Our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims of the tragic accident.
At the end of March, the container ship “Dali” rammed a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the more than 2.5 kilometer long, four-lane highway bridge to collapse. The victims were eight construction workers who were repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the accident. Only two of them could be saved. Over the past few weeks, recovery teams have gradually found the bodies of the six missing people.
FBI has started an investigation
The damaged “Dali” is still at the scene of the accident, but is to be taken to the port of Baltimore in the coming days so that shipping traffic can start again as soon as possible. To do this, debris from the bridge lying on the ship should be removed.
The US Federal Police FBI has now started a criminal investigation into the accident. Among other things, it should be checked whether the crew of the freighter knew that the ship was already having problems when it left the port. The crew stated that the ship could no longer be steered. Shortly before the accident, she had sent out an emergency signal, which enabled the police to stop traffic over the bridge. But the warning came too late for the construction workers on the bridge.
Isabell Karras, ARD Washington, tagesschau, May 8, 2024 11:44 a.m