Baltimore: US President Joe Biden on Friday took an aerial tour of the collapsed Baltimore bridge pledged federal help in rebuilding the span and vowed to help those who lost families in the accident. On March 26, a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in the deaths of six persons. There is still work to be done to remove the debris and open the shipping channel across the Mid-Atlantic state.
Biden went over the accident scene in his Marine One helicopter to gain a bird’s-eye perspective. He briefed local officials on the economic effects on the Baltimore port, a major shipping hub for ships offloading cars. During his speech, Biden stated that they would not stop until the bridge was repaired and everything in the neighbourhood returned to normal. The US President also urged Congress to give financing for the new bridge their swiftest approval.
He added that he is here to tell the victims that the nation has their back and he means it and is going to get this paid for. He added that those responsible for the bridge collapse would help pay repair of the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law would allow. Biden later met the families of six people who died in the accident.
According to a statement released by Unified Command, an alliance of federal and state agencies in charge of managing the reaction to the bridge collapse, the Captain of the Port, or COTP, was “preparing to establish a temporary alternate channel on the northeast side of the main channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge for commercially essential vessels.”
“The reopening of the port of Baltimore will be a significant milestone,” stated Captain David O’Connell, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for Key Bridge Response 2024. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore,” he added.
The announcement also stated that the temporary route will have “a controlling depth of 11 feet (3.35 meters), a 264 foot (80.4 meters) horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 96 feet (29.26 meters)” in addition to being marked with navigational aids. Nevertheless, neither the timetable for its opening nor the list of vessels that would be allowed to utilize the other channel were provided in the statement.
To enter the safety zone, persons and vessels must receive authorization from the COTP or a certified representative. According to media accounts, the event site is now the scene of a “remarkably complex operation” to clean the wreckage. An essential hub for trade to the US economy is the Port of Baltimore. $80.8 billion worth of international freight passed through it in 2023.
Officials were quoted by Reuters, who stated that there isn’t any proof of foul play. Before 1:30 am (0530 GMT), the enormous cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the entrance of the Patapsco River, severely damaging it due to a power outage. The container ship Dali, under the flag of Singapore, was leaving the harbour with the intention of reaching Sri Lanka.
Before the bridge collapsed, authorities stopped traffic on it in response to a prompt Mayday call from the ship’s crew. Six employees, who were on the bridge at the time of the incident, were reported missing. Two of their bodies have been found, and the remaining ones are thought to be deceased. At a press conference, Maryland Governor Wes Moore remarked that these individuals are heroes for their ability to prevent cars from crossing the bridge. Last night, they prevented fatalities. Moore reassured the public that there were no known structural problems with the bridge and that it was up to code.
