A cargo ship crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, causing a near-total collapse of the span and halting vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Six construction workers are believed to have fallen from the collapsing bridge into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River below. The bodies of two of the victims have been recovered so far, while four remain missing and are presumed dead, officials said.
Two construction workers were rescued and six went missing in the immediate aftermath of the collapse, officials said. The bodies of two of the victims were recovered from the water on Wednesday amid ongoing search and recovery efforts, while four remain missing and are presumed dead, officials said.
Mar 31, 2024, 5:30 PM EDT
2,600 Carnival cruise passengers rerouted from Baltimore arrive in Virginia
The first of multiple Carnival cruise ships rerouted from Baltimore due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge arrived at a port in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday
About 2,600 guests aboard the Carnival Legend returned from a cruise to the Bahamas, getting off the ship in Norfolk. The passengers boarded 70 buses and were driven four hours back to Baltimore, where many left their cars parked.
"When we left Baltimore, we had to go under that bridge," passenger Viktoriia Aldred told ABC affiliate station WVEC in Norfolk. "The bridge looked amazing and you go under the bridge and you're like 'wow.'"
Baltimore native Michael Lukoski told WVEC he heard the news of the bridge collapse while on the cruise to the Bahamas.
"When I got the news Tuesday morning … you couldn’t believe it," said Lukoski. adding that when he first heard of the bridge collapse "it was like, 'no way.'"
Mar 31, 2024, 4:48 PM EDT
200-ton piece of collapsed Key Bridge removed
A 200-ton piece of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was removed Sunday from the vast debris field of twisted metal and concrete clogging entry to the Port of Baltimore, officials said.
Tons more wreckage as well as the crippled container ship Dali that crashed into the span and collapsed it still needs to be cleared, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told ABC News Sunday.
The crew of a floating crane works on the twisted remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was destroyed when a cargo ship collided with it earlier this week, on March 29, 2024 in Baltimore.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
"We're talking about huge pieces," Moore said of the debris crews are cutting up and preparing to remove from the waterway. "I mean, just sitting on the Dali, you're looking at 3,000 or 4,000 tons of steel sitting on top of the ship."
The operation to clean up the disaster site and reopen the channel began on Saturday and continued throughout Sunday, officials said.
Moore told ABC News a timeline hasn't been set on when the channel will be reopened, echoing a statement from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Additionally, crews conducted a “grounding survey” on Sunday to “determine how hard the ground around the Dali is to inform the strategy for pulling it off," officials told ABC News.
Mar 31, 2024, 10:48 AM EDT
Still no timeline on when Baltimore port will reopen: Buttigieg
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday there is still no timeline for when the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and the crippled container ship Dali will be removed so the Port of Baltimore can reopen.
In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," Buttigieg said the Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy are bringing in a 1,000-ton crane and a 600-ton crane to clear the twisted debris from the channel.
3:53
Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Key Bridge recovery
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joins “GMA” to discuss plans to reopen the Port of Baltimore and the path to recovery after the collapse of the Key Bridge in Maryland.
ABCNews.com
"They have not wanted to speculate yet on a timeline because the operation is so complex," Buttigieg said. "It's not that you just have to remove the wreckage, it's that you have to do it in a way that doesn't cause portions of the bridge that are there across the water to shift. They've been under a lot of compression, tension; they could behave almost like a spring if they are not expertly managed."
In addition to removing the debris, Buttigieg said the 248 million-pound shipping vessel still poses a problem, saying, "Measures are being taken to stop the ship from swinging into the channel."
Crushed shipping containers are seen on the bow of the Dali after it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, on March 29, 2024 in Baltimore.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The secretary said part of the $60 million in federal funding released for the cleanup and recovery efforts will also go to the "acquisition, procurement and preparation for the new bridge."
He said that while other East Coast ports have been absorbing container traffic, the Port of Baltimore is uniquely designed to handle the bulk of automobiles shipped to the United States.
"So as soon as it can safely be reopened, that, of course, is a major priority that really affects our entire national supply system," Buttigieg said.
Mar 30, 2024, 4:31 PM EDT
Highly trained crews on site to begin removal of collapsed bridge
Highly trained demolition crews will begin cutting the top portion of the north side of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge into smaller sections for safe removal by crane. One crane barge and one working barge are staged at the incident to support Saturday’s operations.
Salvage teams will use gas-powered cutters to systematically separate sections of the steel bridge, which will be taken to a disposal site. At the same time, salvage divers continue to conduct underwater assessments of the work site to support further operations. Every lifting operation requires engineering analysis to inform salvage operation plans.
The Unified Command is working in partnership with Baltimore Gas and Electric to reduce pressure of an underwater pipeline that spans the width of the channel and runs under the incident site. Unified Command is coordinating to inert the pipeline to free it from hazards and risk. Pipeline operations will continue through the weekend.
The Unified Command continues to maintain a 2000-yard maritime Safety Zone for the recovery efforts and a Temporary Flight Restriction with a radius of three nautical miles from the surface -- up to and including 1,500 feet above ground level -- also remains in effect.
The Safety Zone is enforced for the protection of personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the potential hazards associated with salvage work. The vessel remains stable with crew aboard.
