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Baltimore bridge collapse: Salvage crews race to remove massive steel pieces as 4th body is found

Baltimore bridge collapse: Salvage crews race to remove massive steel pieces as 4th body is found
IT’S JUST SO TRAGIC. IT’S HARD TO FIND WORDS FOR IT. BILL AND FLORENCE BLYTHE SPENT PART OF THEIR EVENING AT THIS MEMORIAL NEAR FORT ARMISTEAD PARK, TO HONOR THE VICTIMS OF THE KEY BRIDGE COLLAPSE. IT COMES AFTER THEY FOUND OUT THAT BALTIMORE UNIFIED COMMAND RECOVERED THE BODY OF THE FOURTH VICTIM ON SUNDAY, WHILE WORKING TO CLEAR THE CHANNEL SALVAGE TEAMS FOUND WHAT THEY BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE MISSING CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES AND FOUND THE BODY OF A MISSING WORKER TRAPPED INSIDE. THEY IDENTIFIED AND MET WITH THAT VICTIM’S FAMILY TODAY, A NUMBER OF THE FAMILIES WANT TO SEND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES AND THEIR PARENTS ARE THERE GRIEVING AND WAITING FOR THAT. SO THAT CLOSURE IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS THE FOURTH OF SIX MISSING WORKERS WHO DIED IN THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE. TWO MORE ARE STILL MISSING. BILL AND FLORENCE SAY THEY JUST ATTENDED A SERVICE FOR ONE OF THE OTHER VICTIMS OVER THE WEEKEND. IT WAS A VERY MOVING CEREMONY AND YOU COULD REALLY FEEL THE STRENGTH OF THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY SITTING IN THAT CHURCH. CERTAIN FORCES CAUSED THIS HORRIBLE TRAGEDY. AND AND I JUST WANTED TO BE THERE AND SUPPORT SOLIDARITY WITH THE FAMILY. BALTIMORE CITY MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT NOW ECHOING THAT SENTIMENT, SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, OUR HEARTS CONTINUE TO BREAK FOR THE LOVED ONES OF THESE VICTIMS. OUR ENTIRE CITY REMAINS WITH THEM JOINING THEM IN MOURNING AND IN HEALING. NOW THAT ONE MORE OF THEIR LOVED ONES HAS BEEN BROUGHT HOME, BALTIMORE COUNTY EXECUTIVE JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI ALSO SHARING HIS CONDOLENCES, SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, WE REMAIN FOCUSED ON DOING ALL WE CAN TO PROVIDE SOLACE, SUPPORT AND GRACE DURING THIS TRYING TIME. AND BACK OUT HERE LIVE. GOVERNOR MOORE ALSO ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING THAT HE IS PRAYING FOR THE FAMILIES AND HOPES THAT EVERYONE RESPECTS THEIR PRIVACY. AS YOU CAN SEE RIGHT HERE, A VIGIL IS SCHEDULED HERE AT THIS MEMORIAL FOR THE FOURTH VICTIM. AND THAT WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY AT 5 P.M. REPORTIN
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Baltimore bridge collapse: Salvage crews race to remove massive steel pieces as 4th body is found
Nearly three weeks since Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed under the impact of a wayward cargo ship, crews are using the largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard to haul the wreckage to a nearby salvage yard.The heaviest section so far weighed about 450 tons. In the salvage yard Monday morning, workers disassembled the metal trusses by attacking them with propane torches and a pair of giant shears that sliced them into more manageable pieces. Rising from the water nearby was the Chesapeake 1000, a floating crane with a storied history that includes helping the CIA retrieve part of a sunken Soviet submarine.The Key Bridge took five years to construct in the 1970s. Now, it’s a race against the clock to dismantle the remnants of a fallen Baltimore landmark.On March 26, six construction workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse. Four bodies have since been recovered.Salvage crews are hoping to recover the two remaining bodies once more of the debris has been removed. They’re also working toward their goal of opening a temporary channel later this month that would allow more commercial traffic to resume through the Port of Baltimore, which has remained largely closed since the March 26 collapse. Officials plan to reopen the port’s main channel by the end of May.So far, over 1,000 tons of steel have been removed from the waterway. But the work is tedious, dangerous and incredibly complex, leaders of the operation said Monday during a visit to the salvage yard at Tradepoint Atlantic, the only maritime shipping terminal currently operating in the Port of Baltimore.The facility, which occupies the site of a former Bethlehem Steel plant northeast of Baltimore, has ramped up operations to accommodate some of the ships originally scheduled to dock at the port’s other terminals.Before removing any pieces of the bridge, divers are tasked with surveying the murky underwater wreckage and assessing how to safely extract the various parts. Coming up with a roadmap is among the biggest challenges, said Robyn Bianchi, an assistant salvage master on the project.“There’s a lot of debris, there’s rebar, there’s concrete,” she said. “We don’t know what dangers are down there, so we have to be very methodical and slow with that.”At the same time, crews are working to remove some containers from the cargo ship Dali before lifting steel spans off its bow and refloating the vessel.“It presents a dynamic hazard," said Joseph Farrell, CEO of Resolve Marine, which is working on refloating the ship. He said once that happens, the Dali will return to the Port of Baltimore. “Getting it out of there is a priority.”

Nearly three weeks since Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed under the impact of a wayward cargo ship, crews are using the largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard to haul the wreckage to a nearby salvage yard.

The heaviest section so far weighed about 450 tons. In the salvage yard Monday morning, workers disassembled the metal trusses by attacking them with propane torches and a pair of giant shears that sliced them into more manageable pieces. Rising from the water nearby was the Chesapeake 1000, a floating crane with a storied history that includes helping the CIA retrieve part of a sunken Soviet submarine.

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The Key Bridge took five years to construct in the 1970s. Now, it’s a race against the clock to dismantle the remnants of a fallen Baltimore landmark.

On March 26, six construction workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse. Four bodies have since been recovered.

Salvage crews are hoping to recover the two remaining bodies once more of the debris has been removed. They’re also working toward their goal of opening a temporary channel later this month that would allow more commercial traffic to resume through the Port of Baltimore, which has remained largely closed since the March 26 collapse. Officials plan to reopen the port’s main channel by the end of May.

So far, over 1,000 tons of steel have been removed from the waterway. But the work is tedious, dangerous and incredibly complex, leaders of the operation said Monday during a visit to the salvage yard at Tradepoint Atlantic, the only maritime shipping terminal currently operating in the Port of Baltimore.

The facility, which occupies the site of a former Bethlehem Steel plant northeast of Baltimore, has ramped up operations to accommodate some of the ships originally scheduled to dock at the port’s other terminals.

Before removing any pieces of the bridge, divers are tasked with surveying the murky underwater wreckage and assessing how to safely extract the various parts. Coming up with a roadmap is among the biggest challenges, said Robyn Bianchi, an assistant salvage master on the project.

“There’s a lot of debris, there’s rebar, there’s concrete,” she said. “We don’t know what dangers are down there, so we have to be very methodical and slow with that.”

At the same time, crews are working to remove some containers from the cargo ship Dali before lifting steel spans off its bow and refloating the vessel.

“It presents a dynamic hazard," said Joseph Farrell, CEO of Resolve Marine, which is working on refloating the ship. He said once that happens, the Dali will return to the Port of Baltimore. “Getting it out of there is a priority.”