Baltimore bridge to be blown apart to free stricken ship

A series of controlled explosions are to be used on Monday to separate the stricken Dali cargo ship from the remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Crews plan to use explosives to break down bridge sections still covering the Dali, which crashed in March.

The planned demolition was postponed on Sunday due to lightning storms.

The container ship crash killed six people and sent around 4,000 tonnes of debris into the Patapsco river.

The 948 ft (289 m) ship has remained at the scene since the accident and is covered in scrap from the bridge.

Authorities hope to detonate one of the spans covering the ship, which is estimated to be 500 feet (152 meters) long and weigh 600 tonnes, BBC’s news partner CBS reported.

The port has been closed since the accident.

Officials plan to use precision cuts with controlled detonations to remove the remnants of the bridge. The ship will then be removed from the wreckage and returned to the Port of Baltimore.

A total of 21 crew are still on board the Dali, the vast majority of whom are Indians. The unified command overseeing the response to the crash said last month that they would remain on the ship for the duration of its investigation.

Authorities have already cleared around 6,000 tonnes of steel and concrete from the collapsed bridge, CBS reported. They estimate a total of 50,000 tonnes of wreckage in total.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week authorities are hoping to unblock the port of the shipping channel by the end of May.

Mr Buttigieg told the BBC the closure of the channel has “certainly” impacted supply chains.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the collapse.