Photo: Scott Olson Getty Images via Agence France-Presse Due to this accident, maritime transport remains suspended, the port of Baltimore being the ninth in the country in terms of activity and generating more than 15,000 jobs.
Amel Semmache – Agence France-Presse in Baltimore
8:03 p.m.
- United States
The first crane was deployed in Baltimore, in the eastern United States, on Thursday as part of efforts to clear debris from the collapsed bridge, with authorities warning that reopening of the port, important for the American economy, will take a long time.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, used every day by tens of thousands of vehicles, collapsed like a house of cards on Tuesday, after being hit by a container ship, blocking the entrance to the port of Baltimore. The bodies of two of the six missing workers were found on Wednesday.
“We are moving heaven and earth” to get the port operational again, White House adviser Tom Perez said Thursday. “A large capacity crane ship will be on site during the day to help collect the debris,” he added in an interview with the American channel MSNBC.
Officials, however, warned that the difficulties were significant, the search for the bodies of the four men still missing having been interrupted late Wednesday because the authorities considered it too dangerous to send divers at the scene of the accident.
Also read
- Two bodies found in Baltimore, where search for victims of collapsed bridge continues
- Is Quebec safe from a tragedy like that of Baltimore?
- Baltimore bridge collapse blocks one of America's busiest ports
“Emergency Assistance Fund”
The four men, all Latin American immigrants, are presumed to have been killed after the Dali, a container ship 300 meters long and 48 meters wide, crashed into a pile of the bridge due to propulsion problems.
These men were part of a team of eight workers working at night repairing the road. Two of them were rescued shortly after the bridge collapsed.
Area residents participated in a vigil at a nearby park Thursday morning, local media reported, while Baltimore City Hall launched a fundraiser to support the victims' families.
As for reconstruction, it “is not going to take hours, nor days, nor weeks”, also warned Wes Moore, governor of the state of Maryland, where Baltimore is located, referring to “a very long way to go” before a return to normal.
Maryland asked the federal government for an initial envelope of $60 million, an appeal quickly heard by the government. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday the “rapid release” of this amount in “emergency relief funds” to Maryland.
“Substantial loss”
This sum is intended to “help Maryland begin urgent work” and will be followed by other funds “as reconstruction progresses,” explained Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg.
“No one will ever forget the shocking images of a container ship striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and the tragic deaths of six people,” he added, in a White House press release.
After the tragedy, President Joe Biden pledged that the federal administration would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge.
Due to this accident, maritime transport remains suspended, the port of Baltimore being the ninth in the country in terms of activity and generating more than 15,000 jobs.
On Thursday, the head of the Lloyd's of London insurance market warned that compensation from insurance companies for the accident could be the highest ever paid in maritime transport.
“It should be a substantial loss, probably the largest” in shipping, “but not outside of our parameters,” Bruce Carnegie-Brown said on CNBC.< /p>