Bridge disaster in Baltimore: two dead construction workers found, debris clearing begins

Local authorities in the port city of Baltimore on the east coast of the United States reported recovering the two bodies on Thursday morning. A total of eight people were on the bridge when the container ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Immediately after the collapse on Tuesday, two survivors were found in the water, including one seriously injured person.

The construction workers found Wednesday night are a 35-year-old Mexican and a 26-year-old Guatemalan who both lived in the US. Divers found their bodies in a red truck that was found almost 8 meters deep, making it likely that they were in the truck when the bridge collapsed.

The four other missing people are also construction workers from Central America who were busy repairing part of the road surface on the bridge during the collapse.

The police have stopped the search for them for the time being, because there are still many pieces of the ship and bridge in the water and on the bottom. Due to the sharp points of the destroyed metal, it would not be safe for the divers to continue searching.

Harbor impassable

Crane ships started removing the debris in the Patapsco, the river under the bridge, on Thursday. The port of Baltimore is now impassable due to all the debris, even though it is one of the most important ports on the American east coast.

The ports of New York and New Jersey have offered to receive container ships that would otherwise go to Baltimore.

Because these include heavy pieces of metal and concrete, removal is a complex operation. The local police do not yet dare to say how long this will last. The repair of the road bridge, which normally carries more than thirty thousand vehicles every day, will probably only take place afterwards.

Billions in damage

Insurers tell news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg that the total damage could run into billions. Restoring the bridge alone would cost around 1.1 billion euros. On top of that, there are claims for damages for the deaths of construction workers and for the economic damage from all container ships that cannot reach – or leave – the port of Baltimore.

US authorities are investigating whether the collision could have occurred due to the captain’s negligence or a technical fault on the ship. This has consequences for where the damage claims will be located. The container ship Dali sailed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka under the Singaporean flag. It is owned by the Singaporean company Grace Ocean Private, but was used by the Danish shipping company Maersk.