Demolition team blows up remains of Baltimore bridge after cargo ship crashed into it
The river has been blocked for months since the disaster.
The mangled remains of Francis Scott Key Bridge were detonated in a controlled explosion weeks after the fatal disaster in Baltimore.
It comes almost two months after the cargo container ship Dali crashed into the bridge, killing six construction workers as they fell into the freezing Patapsco River.
The mangled span of the $110,000,000 steel bridge has been resting on the cargo ship for almost two months, with most traffic through the Baltimore harbour halted.
Now crews have blown up the remains in a controlled explosion led by the US Army Corps of Engineers to free up Dali.
It allows the cargo ship to refloat in bid to restore traffic through the normally busy post as the clean-up enters its final stages.
Return to normal maritime traffic is set to come as a relief for the thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners hit by the closure.
It will also be a relief for the ship’s crew who have been stuck on board the grounded vessel as they were not allowed to leave since the disaster, Associated Press reports.
Officials said the Indian and Sri Lankan crew have been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators.
Recovery teams have been searching the water for the missing dead men.
But as of early May, one body remains missing, according to CBS News.
The crew remained on the ship while the explosives were detonated.
Engineers used precision cuts to control the trusses’ breakdown for ‘surgical precision.’
Authorities said it is considered one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove steel under a high level of tension.
Now hydraulic grabbers will move in to lift the detonated sections of steel onto barges.
The FBI and National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the bridge collapse.
It is thought Dali was about half an hour into its 27-day journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka, after it suffered a sudden ‘complete blackout.’
The crew sent a mayday call shortly after setting off from Baltimore, saying the had lost power and had no control of the 948-foot vessel owned by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
Just minutes later, it crashed onto the bridge at about 1.30 am on March 26.
The safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system, officials told AP.
A new design to replace the collapsed bridge was unveiled.
It boasts a wider span and improved clearance height to minimise chance of collision.
Police officers were hailed as heroes after they managed to stop vehicle traffic over the bridge after they were alerted of the imminent collapse.
However, the six workers fell to their deaths as they were fixing potholes further out on the bridge.
The bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, Miguel Luna, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval and Carlos Hernandez have been recovered, while Jose Mynor Lopez remains missing but is presumed dead.
Lopez, a father and stepfather, had moved to the US from Guatemala almost 20 years ago.
His wife Isabel Franco told WJZ: ‘He had a good heart. He was a hard worker. He was always worried about his family too. He died but he was fighting for us always.’
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