Video: Inspectors Check Hazardous Waste Containers On Ship

BALTIMORE, MD — A crane has been placed in the channel at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore to aid in moving 4,000 tons of debris after Tuesday's collapse, CNN reported. And, inspectors released video from onboard the ship as they checked on hazardous materials.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the outlet on Thursday that the largest crane on the eastern seaboard was set to arrive, however, it was not yet on site early Friday. Three heavy lift vessels are expected to begin arriving on Friday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told the outlet.

Officials on Thursday said a 1,000-ton crane, the largest on the Eastern Seaboard, and a 400-ton crane will both be on site by the weekend to clear debris and open the shipping channel.

Divers have recovered the bodies of two men from a pickup truck, but officials said the placement and nature of the crash debris has made it difficult to find the four workers still missing, and now presumed dead.

Gov. Wes Moore toured the site from a Coast Guard cutter Thursday, saying recovery workers still face "an incredibly complex job."

“When you have a chance to see that wreckage up close, you fully understand the enormity of the challenge,” he said. “Our timeline will be long.”

He said the state is moving at full speed on key priorities:

• Continue to focus on recovery, "because it is our obligation to bring a sense of closure to these families."
• Open the Maryland port, which the state and national economy depends on.
• Focus on everyone affected — families, workers, and businesses. "In this moment we’re going to take care of our people," Moore said.
• Rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge. "We have a very long road ahead of us.”

The port of Baltimore handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. port, Moore said, with more than 8,000 workers affected directly. Ship traffic is still suspended at the Port of Baltimore, but the Maryland Port Administration said in a statement Friday that trucks were still being processed at marine terminals.

“There is a lot of speculation as to when the channel will be reopened,” the agency said, per the Associated Press. “The fact of the matter is we do not know.”

The bodies of two men were found in a pickup truck, including that of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, of northwestern Honduras was one of the workers on the bridge when the boat struck, along with Miguel Luna, from El Salvador. Government officials and families have not named the other two men who have not been found.

In a video released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday night, inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard can be seen examining the wreckage and then the Dali, going inside to view the damage.

An up close view shows the impact of the devastation with the bridge's metal gnarled and twisted from its supports. Inside the ship, inspectors can be seen viewing walls that have been split apart and in one area a milky substance flowing down and accumulating in a small puddle on the floor.

It is not clear from the video, which does not have any audio, what the substance is.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Wednesday that a "sheen" was seen in the water and it would be handled by federal, state and local authorities, Newsweek reported.

The 764 tons of hazardous materials aboard the Dali included corrosives, flammables, and lithium-ion batteries, the outlet reported.

An Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson told the outlet that the agency is "not aware of any hazardous material or fuel leakage at this time and can confirm that there are no nearby drinking water intakes and therefore no threat to drinking water safety."

Sixty million in federal funding from the Biden administration was approved Thursday to help with the cleanup.

Workers affected by the collapse can call 667-930-5989.

Patch's Deb Belt and Jacob Baumgart contributed additional reporting to this story.

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