Can lift 1000 tons

USA: Huge crane clears up after bridge collapse

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Kevin Dietsch)

Following the bridge collapse in the harbor of the US city of Baltimore, efforts are in full swing to reopen the main shipping channel. According to US media reports, the "largest crane on the East Coast" is helping to remove the bridge debris in the water.

On Tuesday night, a container ship rammed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. This caused the more than 2.5-kilometer-long motorway bridge to collapse. The crane was brought to the scene of the disaster by ship. According to Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland, the machine can lift up to 1000 tons. Several crews are now working to remove the debris.

Four people are still missing
Since the disaster, the steel skeleton of the bridge has blocked the passage out of the port of the economic hub, and the ill-fated ship Dali is still at the scene of the accident. According to the Ministry of Transport, eight construction workers were on the bridge at the time of the accident, repairing potholes. Two of them were rescued alive on Tuesday, the bodies of two other men were recovered on Wednesday evening. Four construction workers are still missing.

The crane started the clean-up work on Friday.(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Kevin Dietsch)

Meanwhile, the US government approved the emergency aid of 60 million dollars (55 million euros) requested by the state of Maryland. "This is just the beginning of our financial support," announced Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Platform X. The US government will support Baltimore at every step of the reconstruction process.

"National crisis"
Buttigieg described the port of the East Coast metropolis as an important hub for America's supply chains and economy. Governor Moore called the bridge collapse a "national crisis". Shipping had to be brought back on track, and that would take time. The New York Times quoted Moore as saying that the top priority is to find the four bridge workers who are still missing to give their families closure.