Biden OKs $60M in aid after Baltimore bridge collapse as governor warns of ‘very long road ahead’

BALTIMORE– Maryland Governor Wes Moore warned Thursday of a “very long road” to recovering from the loss of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as the Biden administration approved $60 million in immediate federal aid following the deadly collapse.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved the largest crane on the East Coast to help remove the bridge wreckage, Moore said, so work to clear the canal and reopen the main shipping route can begin. The machine, which can lift up to 1,000 tons, was expected to arrive Thursday evening, and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said a second crane with a capacity of 400 tons could arrive Saturday.

The state is “very grateful” for the federal funds and support, Moore said at an evening news conference.

Moore promised Thursday that “the best minds in the world” were working on plans to clear the rubble, move the freighter that rammed the bridge out of the canal, recover the bodies of the four remaining workers presumed dead and investigate what went wrong.

“The administration is working hand-in-hand with industry to survey the area, including the wreck, and remove the ship,” said Moore, a Democrat, who said swift assistance is needed to “lay the foundation for a speedy recovery .” President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will pay the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.

“This work is not going to take hours. This work will not take days. This work is not going to take weeks,” Moore said. “We have a very long road ahead of us.”

Van Hollen said 32 members of the Army Corps of Engineers are mapping the collapse site and 38 Navy contractors are working on the recovery operation.

The devastation left behind after the powerless cargo ship struck a support pillar early Tuesday is staggering. Divers recovered the bodies of two men from a pickup truck in the Patapsco River near the bridge’s center span on Wednesday, but officials said they must start clearing the wreckage before anyone finds the bodies of four other missing people employees could reach.

State police have said based on sonar scans that the vehicles appear to be encased in a “superstructure” of concrete and other debris.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship, the Dali, to extract information from the electronics and paperwork and to interview the captain and crew members. Investigators shared a preliminary timeline of events before the crash, which federal and state officials said appeared to be an accident.

“The best minds in the world are coming together to gather the information we need to move forward quickly and safely in our response to this collapse,” Moore said Thursday.

Of the 21 crew members on the ship, 20 are from India, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry, told reporters. One suffered minor injuries and required stitches, but “they are all in good shape and in good health,” Jaiswal said.

The victims, who were part of a construction crew repairing potholes in the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said. At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship hit the bridge column, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, officials said.

The crash broke the bridge and fell into the water within seconds. Authorities had just enough time to stop car traffic, but did not have the chance to warn the construction crew.

During the Baltimore Orioles’ home opener Thursday, Sgt. Paul Pastorek, col. Jeremy Herbert and Officer Garry Kirts of the Maryland Transportation Authority were honored for their actions in stopping bridge traffic and preventing further loss of life.

The three said in a statement that they were “proud to carry out our duties as officers of this state to save the lives we could.”

The Dali, operated by Synergy Marine Group, was en route from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by the Danish shipping giant Maersk.

Synergy expressed its condolences to the families of the victims in a statement early Thursday.

“We deeply regret this incident and the hardship it has caused to the people of Baltimore and the region’s economy that depends on this critically important port,” Synergy said, noting it would continue to cooperate with investigators.

Scott Cowan, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333, said the union is working to help its approximately 2,400 members whose jobs are in danger of drying up until shipping can resume at the Port of Baltimore.

“If there are no ships, there is no work,” he said. “We are doing everything we can.”

The enormous ship, almost as long as the Eiffel Tower is high, transported almost 4,700 sea containers, 56 of which contained hazardous substances. Thirteen of them were destroyed, officials said. However, industrial hygienists who evaluated the contents identified them as perfumes and soaps, according to the Key Bridge Joint Information Center.

“There was no immediate threat to the environment,” the center said.

About 21 gallons (80 liters) of oil from a bow thruster on the ship is believed to have caused sheen in the waterway, Coast Guard Adm. Shannon Gilreath said Thursday.

Booms were placed to prevent the spread, and state environmental officials sampled the water.

Right now, there are also cargo containers hanging precariously from the side of the ship, Gilreath said, adding, “We’re trying to keep our first responders … as safe as possible.”

Divers working beneath the bridge’s rubble and container ship will face challenging conditions, including limited visibility and moving currents, according to officials and expert observers.

“Debris can be dangerous, especially if you can’t see what’s right in front of you,” says Donald Gibbons, instructor at Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Technical Centers.

The sudden loss of a highway that carries 30,000 vehicles a day and the disruption of the port will affect not only thousands of dock workers and commuters, but also American consumers, who will likely feel the impact of shipping delays.

The governors of New York and New Jersey offered to take on disrupted freight shipments in an effort to minimize supply chain problems.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who met with supply chain officials on Thursday, said the Biden administration was focused on reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge, but he did not provide a timeline for those efforts.

According to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, 35 major bridges collapsed worldwide between 1960 and 2015 due to collisions with ships or barges.

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Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland. Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington and Krutika Pathi in New Delhi contributed.