Cranes began arriving in Baltimore (Maryland, United States) on Thursday to clear debris from the collapsed bridge. These machines will have to remove the twisted steel remains of the Francis Scott Key bridge, used every day by 30,000 vehicles, and which collapsed on Tuesday like a house of cards, after being hit by a container ship, blocking the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, and suspending maritime transportation to the site.
The Army Corps of Engineers is “moving the largest crane on the East Coast to Baltimore to help us,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told reporters Thursday evening. “Before we can do the lifting, we have to figure out how to cut the bridge into pieces of the right size so that we can lift them out of the water using a crane,” explained the rear admiral of the Coastguard, Shannon Gilreath.
Emergency assistance to begin work
Authorities have warned that reopening the port, important to the US economy, will take a long time. Wes Moore maintained that this reopening is now the absolute priority of the State of Maryland, which asked the federal state for an initial envelope of 60 million dollars, an appeal quickly heard by the government.
The US Department of Transportation announced Thursday the “rapid release” of this amount in “emergency aid funds” to Maryland, to “start urgent work. » After the tragedy, President Joe Biden pledged that the federal administration would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge. “I don’t know what the total cost will be, I don’t know what the full schedule will be yet, but our resolve is unwavering,” said Wes Moore. We will reach its end. »
On Thursday, the head of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market warned that compensation from insurance companies for the accident could be the highest ever paid out in maritime transport.
Concern in working-class neighborhoods
At the White House on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter W. Gautier said reopening the shipping channel and port is now the focus of the nation’s recovery efforts. THE Washington Post recalls that between 100 and 200 million dollars of goods pass through this port every day, and that at least two million dollars of wages are at stake each day the port is closed.
THE Washington Post also highlights the growing concern in the working-class neighborhoods along the Patapsco River in southeastern Baltimore County. More than 8,000 men and women have jobs directly linked to the Port of Baltimore, which indirectly employs 15,000 people in total. And rumors are starting to circulate, according to the American daily, concerning layoffs which could be imminent.
“It is also the resting place of four fathers”
However, the economic situation should not make us forget the tragedy behind this accident. “It is also the resting place of four fathers, four brothers, four sons,” declared Tom Perez, senior official at the White House during an interview with the American channel MSNBC. Although the bodies of two of the six missing workers were found on Wednesday, operations to find the other four bodies were interrupted, with authorities deeming it too dangerous to send divers to the accident site.
“The water is so dark and the debris so dense that in most cases our divers can’t see beyond 30 to 60 cm,” Wes Moore said.