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Tag: Baltimore bridge

  • Collapsed Baltimore bridge span falls after workers detonate series of explosives

    Collapsed Baltimore bridge span falls after workers detonate series of explosives

    Workers used explosives to break down the last part of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Monday. The steel trusses fell down into the river with a big noise and a splash.

    The bombs exploded with orange flashes and made lots of black smoke. The longest beams fell off the grounded Dali container ship and slid into the water, making a big splash.

    It was a big step in getting the Dali unstuck from the wreckage. The Dali lost power and crashed into a bridge support column shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26.

    The building collapse caused the death of six construction workers and stopped a lot of ships from moving through the port in Baltimore. The planned demolition will help bring up the sunken ship and open the port for traffic again. This will help many workers and businesses that have been affected by the port closure.

    Authorities said the explosion happened just as they wanted it to. They said they need to check the few trusses on the Dali’s bow and make sure there’s no underwater wreckage stopping the ship from being floated and moved.

    “It’s like taking off layers from an onion,” said Lt. GeneralScott Spellmon from the United States. The Army Corps of Engineers.

    Officials believe they will be able to float the ship again in a few days. Then three or four small boats will help bring it to a spot at the port. It will probably stay there for a few weeks and get fixed temporarily before it’s taken to a shipyard for bigger repairs.

    “This was a very important step for our moving forward,” Col. Estee Pinchasin, who leads the Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore, said right after the demolition. She said the teams don’t think they will need to use any more bombs.

    The crew of the ship stayed on board during the explosion, and the captain said that no one got hurt and there were no issues. David O’Connell is in charge of the Port of Baltimore.

    The crew members cannot leave the ship that has stopped moving since the disaster. Authorities mentioned that they have been occupied with taking care of the ship and helping the people who are looking into the situation. Out of all the crew members, 20 are from India and one is from Sri Lanka.

    Engineers took a long time to get ready to use explosives to break apart a 500-foot-long bridge that weighs up to 600 tons. The destruction was delayed on Sunday because of heavy rain and lightning.

    “Gov Wes Moore said that this way of doing things is the best. He mentioned at a news conference on Monday that nobody has been hurt while cleaning up so far. ” “Making sure everyone is safe in this job comes first for us. ”

    Officials said that fire teams were ready in the area during the explosion in case any sparks caused problems.

    This week, in a video, officials said that engineers were using careful cuts to control how the trusses break. They said the method is very precise and safe. It’s one of the best ways to remove steel when it’s under a lot of tension. The hydraulic grabbers will pick up the broken steel pieces and put them onto barges.

    The NTSB and the FBI are looking into why the bridge collapsed. Authorities said that the safety board will look into the ship’s electrical system.

    The big shipping company Maersk hired the Dali ship to go from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the journey didn’t go as planned. The people on the boat called for help because they couldn’t steer the boat and had no power. A few minutes later, the boat crashed into the bridge.

    Government officials praised the teams that helped find the bodies of the six construction workers. The most recent body was found in the sunken wreckage last week. All the people who were hurt were Latino immigrants who moved to the U. SLooking for work. They were fixing holes in the road at night when the bridge was broken.

    Authorities said the work to open the port’s 50-foot deep channel is still on schedule and should be finished by the end of May. Up until now, workers have made a temporary pathway that is not as deep. Authorities said that 365 ships used the port in the last few weeks. The port usually handles more cars and farming equipment than any other port in the country.

    Nancy Pelosi, who used to be in charge of the House of Representatives, grew up in Baltimore. Her father and brother were once mayors there. She said that the Key Bridge disaster was like when Fort McHenry in Baltimore was attacked at night. This attack inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the War of 1812. She said that both show how strong and tough Maryland is.

    Pelosi, a member of the Democratic party from California, went to a news conference on Monday with two of her family members. She said that the different government agencies are working together quickly and safely to handle the tragedy well.

    “She said that the flag was still there through the night. ” That’s Baltimore tough.

  • Fifth worker’s body discovered month after fall of the Baltimore bridge

    Fifth worker’s body discovered month after fall of the Baltimore bridge

    Officials have found the body of the fifth person who went missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed over a month ago.

    The officials said they found the person who passed away on Wednesday. His name was Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, he was 49 years old and lived in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

    Six workers fixing the road fell and died on March 26 because a big ship lost power and hit the bridge’s pillar. Five bodies have been found, but one worker named Jose Mynor Lopez is still missing. They were all people from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras who moved to the United States.

    Workers found one of the missing construction trucks on Wednesday and told the Maryland State Police about it, according to officials. The state police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and the FBI went to the place and found a dead body in a red truck. The underwater police team and the crime scene unit helped too.

    “We are committed to continuing the recovery efforts, and we are aware that each person lost in this tragedy has a loving family,” said Roland Butler, Maryland State Police Superintendent. “We are asking everyone to show their support and condolences to the families during this tough time, along with our local, state, and national partners. ”

    The Dali container ship has been stuck in the wreckage since it collapsed, but crews are going to lift it up and take it away so that more ships can start using Baltimore’s port again. According to a Port of Baltimore news release, officials think they will have it taken away by May 10th.

  • Six workers feared dead after Baltimore bridge collapsed

    Six workers feared dead after Baltimore bridge collapsed

    In the late hours of the night, a communication was transmitted over the radio by a dispatcher. They said a big ship lost its ability to steer and was going toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

    In about 90 seconds, the police officers said they stopped traffic on the Baltimore bridge in both directions. Someone said they were going to drive onto the bridge to warn the construction workers.

    However, it was already too late. The ship, unable to move and carrying large containers, crashed into a support pillar.

    “The entire bridge collapsed,” an anxious officer said. “Get going, anyone and everyone. ” The entire bridge fell down.

    The big ship Dali hit the pillar at around 1:30 in the morning. On Tuesday, a long part of the bridge, which is a very important road, fell into the Patapsco River. The bridge being gone is going to cause a lot of traffic and problems for the shipping port.

    At least eight people went in the water. Two people were saved, but the other six are missing and believed to be dead. They were part of a construction team working on fixing potholes on the bridge. They are searching for their bodies on Wednesday morning, said Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo.

    Some people from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico were missing, as reported by diplomats from these countries. The man from Honduras was named Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandova.

    Federal and state authorities said they think the crash was an accident. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the situation, and ships going in and out of the Port of Baltimore are stopped for an unknown amount of time.

    Captain Michael Burns Jr. simplify it to just “Michael Burns Jr. ” The Maritime Center for Responsible Energy said that it is very difficult to bring a ship into or out of ports in restricted waters with limited space to move around.

    He said that losing power in a small area of water is really scary. When a ship can’t move or steer, it is controlled by the wind and water.

    Video showed the ship moving as the governor of Maryland said it would. Wes Moore was walking at about 9 miles per hour (15 kilometers per hour) towards the 1. 6 mile (26 kilometer) Cars were still driving on the bridge, and some just barely made it in time. The crash broke the bridge and it fell into the water quickly. There were sharp pieces sticking up from the water.

    The police said they didn’t find any proof that anyone other than the workers went into the water, but they’re still considering the possibility.

    A high-ranking manager at the company where the workers were hired, Brawner Builders, said they were working on the bridge when it collapsed.

    Jeffrey Pritzker, the company’s executive vice president, said that this was totally unexpected. We are at a loss for words. We are very proud of our safety measures. We use cones, signs, lights, barriers, and flaggers to keep everyone safe.

    Jesus Campos works for Brawner Builders and knows the crew. He said they were taking a break and some were sitting in their trucks.

    Campos said, “I remember being there a month ago and I know how it feels when the trailers go by. ” “Imagine knowing that something is dropping down. ” It’s very difficult. I don’t know what to do.

    Father Ako Walker, a Catholic priest, said he spent time with the families of the missing workers while they waited for news about their loved ones during a vigil at Sacred Heart of Jesus.

    Walker said, “You can see the hurt on their faces. ”

    The rescuers saved two people from the water. One person went to the hospital and left a few hours later after getting treatment.

    The crash happened before the busy morning traffic on the bridge. 12 million vehicles used the bridge last year.

    Between 1960 and 2015, 35 big bridges fell down because ships or barges crashed into them, according to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.

    The collapse on Tuesday will cause a lot of problems for shipping along the East Coast for a long time. The Port of Baltimore, which is a main hub, will have to shut down.

    Paul Wiedefeld, the person in charge of transportation, said boats can’t come in or out of the port for now. But trucks can still go into the facility.

    The whole area, and even the East Coast, will be really hurt if we lose this bridge, says Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said. Johnny Ray Salling spoke.

    Pete Buttigieg, who is in charge of transportation, said it’s too early to know when the channel will be cleared. The channel is about 50 feet deep. President Joe Biden said he will go to Baltimore soon and he thinks the government will pay for the whole cost of fixing it.

    Synergy Marine Group, who takes care of the ship, said the crash occurred while it was being guided by local experts called pilots. Pilots help ships navigate safely in and out of ports. Synergy said on Wednesday that one crew member got hurt and had to go to the hospital for a small injury.

    Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the ship, and a big shipping company called Maersk has rented it.

    The ship called Dali, which was 985 feet long (300 meters), was going from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was flying a flag from Singapore. This information comes from Marine Traffic.

    The ship was checked by officials from other countries in June and September 2023, and it passed both inspections. In June 2023, a broken gauge for fuel pressure on a ship was fixed before it left the port in Singapore.