Dozens of containers onboard the cargo ship that toppled the Baltimore Key Bridge have hazardous materials inside, Coast Guard officials said Wednesday.
The Dali tanker ship was carrying 56 containers with hazardous materials out of the total 4,700 containers atop its deck when it smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Gautier said during a White House Briefing.
But the official stressed that there is “no threat to the public” as most of the potentially dangerous containers were unaffected by the collision, according to Fox News.
“The majority of those containers are closer to the pilot house and are completely unaffected by the damage to the bow of the ship,” Gautier said. “And we have not determined that there’s any kind of release at this time.”
The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers will lead cleanup efforts — to remove the ship, the mangled remains of the steel bridge and any vehicles trapped below the wreck in the depths of the Patapsco River.
The massive container ship is stuck in place, held down on its bow by the weight of a piece of the bridge, according to Gautier.
“The real critical thing here is that, as you know, a portion of the bridge remains on the bow on that ship, and we will be coordinating very closely with the Army Corps of Engineers and their contractors to first effect the removal of that debris before the vessel can then be removed,” he said. “The vessel bow is sitting on the bottom because of the weight of that bridge debris on there.”
Divers recovered two bodies from the river Wednesday but had to suspend their search for the remaining four people missing because the bridge rubble beneath the surface of the water is unstable and dangerous.
Search parties believe that the bodies of the other individuals — who were likely inside vehicles that were on the bridge when it collapsed — are trapped beneath the rubble.
Once the wreck is cleared, the divers will continue their efforts to retrieve the bodies.
Everything you need to know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse in Baltimore
- The Dali, the Singapore-flagged container ship that smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and destroyed it early Tuesday, reportedly lost propulsion and tried to warn officials that it was going to crash, according to a report.
- Six people were unaccounted for, according to authorities. Two people were pulled from the river by rescuers.
- Seven vehicles were missing after falling from the 1.6-mile-long span. Officials are using sonar technology to find the vehicles.
- Videos show power on the ship flickering off, and then on again, shortly before the crash. Watch footage of the bridge’s collapse here.
- A Baltimore resident described how the horrifying collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday caused his entire house to feel like it was falling down.
- The Dali was also involved in a collision while leaving the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
At least six people — construction workers who were repairing potholes on the bridge roadbeds — were killed in the disaster.
Authorities also hope to clear the wreckage to create a path for shipping purposes with access to the Port of Baltimore.
The crumbled remains of the 1.6-mile bridge are blocking one of the US’s busiest ports and threatening to disrupt $80 billion in cargo and more than 140,000 jobs.
The government will eventually build a new bridge — though it’s expected to take years.
“Rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday.
“This will be a long and difficult path,” he added. “But we will come together around Baltimore and we will rebuild together.”
