BALTIMORE (NEWSnet/AP) — Crews plan to refloat and remove the grounded container ship that struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge within roughly the next 10 days.
The ship, which lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, has been stationary amid the wreckage since the March 26 collapse.
Officials expect to have it removed by May 10, according to a news release Tuesday from the Port of Baltimore.
Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the disaster. Four bodies have been recovered while two remain missing.
Crews have identified “areas of interest” where they believe the bodies could be, but they’ve been unable to access them so far, Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Officials declined to provide a projected timeline for how long the cleanup will continue and when the victims’ families can expect to be made whole. So far, 3,300 tons of debris have been removed from the Patapsco River.
Last week, officials opened a temporary deep-draft channel that allowed some stranded cargo ships to finally leave the Port of Baltimore. Others entered the port through the channel, which closed Monday so crews could focus on extracting the Dali from the wreckage.
Once the Dali returns to port, officials said they expect to open a 45-foot channel by May 10 that can accommodate more large cargo ships. They plan to fully restore the port’s 50-foot main channel by the end of May.
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