BTN News: The missing body of the workers who died in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered, officials announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, demolition teams are preparing to use explosives in cleanup efforts.
Officials said the Dali crew would remain aboard the stranded container ship while crews carried out controlled demolition to remove the largest remaining arch of the collapsed bridge.
The steel arch fell off the ship’s bow after Dali lost power and hit one of the bridge’s support pillars on March 26. The ship has since been stranded amid the wreckage, and the busy port of Baltimore has been closed for most shipping traffic.
Six workers died in the collapse. The body of José Mynor López, 37, was recovered on Tuesday, officials said that night. All of the victims were Latino immigrants who worked a night shift filling holes in the bridge. Police officers were able to stop traffic a few minutes before the collapse, but there was not enough time to alert workers.
López moved to the United States from Guatemala. At a vigil held last month in honor of the victims, mourners used a crane to raise the Guatemalan flag in their memory.
Officials said rescue divers found his body and alerted state authorities.
“With heavy hearts, today marks an important watershed in our recovery efforts and provides closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in this tragic event, ” said Col. Roland Butler Jr., Commissioner of the Maryland State Police.
Thanks to the controlled demolition, which is expected to be carried out in the coming days, it will be possible to refloat the Dali and return it to the port of Baltimore, officials reported. Once the vessel is removed, marine traffic will return to its normal flow, providing relief to the thousands of longshoremen, truckers, and small business owners affected by the closure.
Officials said they hope to remove Dali by May 10 and reopen the main 50-foot (15.2-meter) port channel by the end of the month.
The Dali’s 21 crew members will remain on board while the explosives are detonated, said Ronald Hodges, a Coast Guard official.
Engineers have been working for weeks to figure out the best way to remove this last major part of the bridge. The fireworks caused him to fall into the water. A large hydraulic gripper will be used to place the resulting steel sections into barges.
Coast Guard officials released a video last week showing entire sections of the ship’s deck road.
Hodges said the safety of the crew was one of the main concerns of officials when considering whether they would remain on the ship during the demolition. He said engineers use precise cuts to control how the beams break.
“The last thing we want is anything to happen to the crew,” Hodges said.
They have not been allowed to leave Dali since the disaster. Officials said they were busy maintaining the vessel and assisting investigators. Of the crew, 20 are from India and one is from Sri Lanka.
A spokesman for the crew did not immediately respond to an email sent Tuesday afternoon seeking comment.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are investigating the bridge collapse.
Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali for a planned voyage from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship never made it that far. Its crew sent out a distress call saying they had lost power and lost control of the steering gear. A few minutes later, the ship crashed into the bridge.
Officials said the safety board’s investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system and whether it had electrical problems before leaving Baltimore.
Maryland leaders said last week they plan to rebuild the bridge by the fall of 2028.
