Baltimore accident: Controlled demolition conducted to break down bridge

Washington: To free the cargo ship Dali, which collided with and destroyed the bridge in March, from the fallen structure, a sizable steel part of the collapsed bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, was demolished using a controlled precision-cut demolition technique. Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott hailed the demolition crew in a post on Monday on X, citing their "flawless, safe execution of these precision cuts" (Xinhua news agency source).

"This is an important milestone in our effort to clear the channel. We're going to get it done the right way -- together," he noted.

The demolition has been postponed twice to Monday evening due to the weather.

"The safest and swiftest method to remove the bridge piece from on top of the M/V Dali is by precision cuts made with small charges," said the Key Bridge Response Unified Command, which coordinates response operations to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, in a statement last week, adding that "This is an industry-standard tool in controlled demolition that will break the span into smaller pieces, which will allow the work of refloating the vessel and removing it from the federal channel", IANS reported.

The 2.6-km-long Francis Scott Key Bridge, a major bridge that held Interstate 695, collapsed on March 26 after being hit by a large container ship, which experienced a power failure before the collision.

Eight people initially went into the water after the incident occurred and two of them were rescued from the Patapsco River, with one in critical condition.

Six road maintenance workers, reportedly on the bridge repairing potholes, were killed in the tragic event.

Officials said last Tuesday that they recovered the body of the sixth and final worker who had been missing after the bridge collapse.