Barges move cranes to Baltimore to help remove debris from bridge and open shipping route

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Huge barges carrying cranes headed toward Baltimore Thursday to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete in an attempt to create a key transportation route blocked by the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

U.S. Coast Guard officials said Wednesday night that the barges were headed to where the bridge crossed the Patapsco River, but it was unclear when they would arrive.

The devastation at the site of the collapse, which occurred when an out-of-control cargo ship hit it early Tuesday, is extensive. Divers reached the bodies of two men inside a pickup truck near the middle span of the bridge on Wednesday, but officials said they will have to begin removing the twisted remains before anyone can reach the bodies of four other missing workers. Divers will resume the search once the debris is removed.

“We are now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation. Due to the superstructure surrounding what we believe to be the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris, divers can no longer navigate or operate safely around that,” said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland State Police, at a news conference Wednesday.

“We have exhausted all search efforts in the areas around this wreckage and based on sonar scans, we strongly believe the vehicles are encased in the superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw collapse,” Butler said.

Butler asserted that his agency will support the unified command during the rescue evaluation phase, but asked for patience and warned that “there is no definitive schedule.”

Officials from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) boarded the ship, the Dali, to retrieve information from its electronic devices and documents and interview the captain and other crew members. Investigators shared a preliminary timeline of events before the crash, which federal and state authorities say appeared to be an accident.

Of the 21 members of the ship’s crew, 20 are from India, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country, told reporters on Thursday. One was slightly injured and required stitches, but “they are all in good shape and health,” Jaiswal said.

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

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Witte reported from Dundalk, Maryland. Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington and Krutika Pathi in New Delhi contributed to this report.