A complex salvage operation is under way to remove the wreckage of the Baltimore bridge in a first step towards reopening the vital port and recovering the bodies of the four workers still missing, presumed dead.
Seven floating cranes, including the largest on the Atlantic seaboard, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats, along with teams of engineers are involved in the mammoth task to clear the twisted metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from Maryland’s Patapsco River.
Image: Experts are trying to work out how to break up the wreckage for removal. Pic: Reuters
US Coast Guard rear admiral Shannon Gilreath said experts were trying to work out how to “break that bridge up into the right-sized pieces that we can lift”.
Maryland governor Wes Moore said: “To go out there and see it up close, you realise just how daunting a task this is.
“With a salvage operation this complex – and frankly with a salvation operation this unprecedented – you need to plan for every single moment.”
He said shipping containers aboard the cargo vessel had been ripped apart “like papier-mache” in the crash.
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The wreckage has blocked ships from entering or leaving the busy port and also hampered the search for the missing workers.
The governor said: “We have to bring a sense of closure to these families.”
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Inside ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge
Highlighting the mounting financial cost, he added: “What we’re talking about today is not just about Maryland’s economy, this is about the nation’s economy.
“The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in this country.”
Maryland’s secretary of transportation Paul J Wiedefeld said his department was already planning for rebuilding of the bridge and “considering innovative design, engineering and building methods so that we can quickly deliver this project”.
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Aftermath of Baltimore bridge wreckage
Meanwhile, the authorities have imposed a no-fly zone over the area with people told to keep drones away.
The victims of the disaster, members of a road crew fixing potholes on the bridge when it was destroyed, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, officials said.
At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued.
Divers subsequently recovered the bodies of two men from a pick-up truck in the river, but the extent of the debris and murky underwater conditions have complicated efforts to find the other four workers.
The White House has approved $60m (£48m) in immediate aid, and US President Joe Biden has said the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the road bridge, which was completed in 1977 and carried 30,000 vehicles a day.
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The cargo ship, which was managed by Synergy Marine Group, was heading from Baltimore to Sri Lanka at the time of the crash.
It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
Synergy said in a statement: “We deeply regret this incident and the problems it has caused for the people of Baltimore and the region’s economy that relies on this vitally important port.”
The firm has said it will continue to co-operate with the investigation.
Of the 21 crew members on the ship, only one was slightly injured and needed stitches.
The huge 86,000-tonne vessel was carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers.
Donald Trump has said he plans to hit Canada with a 35% tariff on imported goods, as he warned of a blanket 15 or 20% hike for most other countries.
In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the US president wrote: “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.”
Mr Trump’s tariffs were allegedly an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and the US president has expressed frustration with Canada’s trade deficit with the US.
In a statement Mr Carney said: “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”
He added: “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”
The higher rates would go into effect on 1 August.
Shortly after Mr Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, there was a huge sell-off on the financial markets. The US president later announced a 90-day negotiating period, during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.
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“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he said.
He added: “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today.”
The US and UK signed a trade deal in June, with the US president calling it “a fair deal for both” and saying it will “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income”.
Sir Keir Starmer said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”
It comes as Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington on bilateral problems could take place before the end of the summer.
A Palestinian activist who was detained for over three months in a US immigration jail after protesting against Israel is suing Donald Trump’s administration for $20m (£15m) in damages.
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil have filed a claim against the administration alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his role in campus protests.
He described “plain-clothed agents and unmarked cars” taking him “from one place to another, expecting you just to follow orders and shackled all the time”, which he said was “really scary”.
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Mahmoud Khalil reunites with family after release
Mr Khalil said he was not presented with an arrest warrant and wasn’t told where he was being taken.
He said the detention centre he was taken to was “as far from humane as it could be” and “a place where you have no rights whatsoever”.
“You share a dorm with over 70 men with no privacy, with lights on all the time, with really terrible food. You’re basically being dehumanised at every opportunity. It’s a black hole,” he added.
Mr Khalil said he would also accept an official apology from the Trump administration.
The Trump administration celebrated Mr Khalil’s arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it declared were “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.
Mr Khalil said after around 36 hours in captivity he was allowed to speak to his wife, who was pregnant at the time.
“These were very scary hours, I did not know what was happening on the outside. I did not know that my wife was safe,” he said.
Mr Khalil said administration officials had made “absolutely absurd allegations” by saying he as involved in antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas.
“They are weaponising antisemitism, weaponising anti-terrorism in order to stifle speech,” he said. “What I was engaged in is simply opposing a genocide, opposing war crimes, opposing Columbia University’s complicity in the war on Gaza.”
A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Mr Khalil were fully supported by the law.
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Asked about missing the birth of his son while he was in prison, Mr Khalil said: “I don’t think there’s any word that can describe the agony and the sadness that I went through, to be deprived from such a divine moment, from a moment that my wife and I had always dreamed about.”
Meanwhile, the deportation case against Mr Khalil is continuing to wind its way through the immigration court system.
Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.
The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.
After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.
The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.
“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”
Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.
The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.
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Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”
But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.
Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.