At the end of March, the “Dali” rammed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The damaged bridge has now been blown free in a controlled manner.
Almost seven weeks after the collapse of a large highway bridge in the US city of Baltimore, experts have blown up the remaining debris in a controlled manner. At the end of March, the container ship “Dali” rammed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused the four-lane highway bridge, which is more than 2.5 km long, to collapse.
Six bridge workers died in the accident, two were rescued alive. Since then, clean-up work has been underway on-site. Part of the huge bridge structure had become wedged after the collision with the container ship, making it impossible to remove it. This part of the bridge has now been blown up with explosive charges to free the ship underneath.
Work and investigations continue in Baltimore
The investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing. The 21-member crew from India and Sri Lanka is still on board the ship. According to the crew, the ship could no longer be steered after leaving the port of Baltimore following a “blackout” on board. The FBI is now investigating, among other things, whether the crew may have been aware of the technical problems.
The ship’s crew had made an emergency call that day before the collision with the bridge pillar, which probably saved lives – as officials on land then stopped traffic and prevented other cars from reaching the bridge.
