As the investigation into what happened Wednesday continues, a team of authorities is working on a plan to refloat the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and move it out of the way.
Lt. Gen. Peter Gauthier, the U.S. Coast Guard's deputy commander for operations, said the Coast Guard will work with the Army Corps of Engineers to remove parts of the bridge at the ship's bow.
Then work will be done to refloat the ship. Due to the weight of the bridge debris, the front of the ship is sinking to the bottom of the Patapsco River, Gauthier said. The first step in all of this, Gauthier said, is to use remotely operated vehicles and divers to investigate what's happening below the surface.
One rescue diving expert said it was a dangerous task: Butch Hendrick, a rescue diver and founder of Lifeguard Systems, a company that trains public safety personnel in rescue diving, said the wreckage beneath the surface of the Patapsco River is likely “interactive.” Ta.
“Right now, all the pieces are being twisted and broken apart and transformed into different formats, and something as simple as moving one piece can move multiple pieces,” he told CNN on Wednesday. Told.
Further complicating matters, the river is so deep that divers have little visibility of the riverbed, officials have previously said. Hendrick said divers had to search around the rubble, being careful not to drop anything, explaining that “everything is written in Braille.”
