A salvage crew of divers, engineers, riggers, welders, and crane operators are working seven days a week at the site where the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed to recover the remains of four men, clean up the wreckage, remove the Dali and reopen the waterway as quickly as possible.

An important early step is to remove intact containers from the bow of the Dali, as well as break apart the steel frame wrapped around it.

The Baltimore Banner boarded the debris removal vessel, the Reynolds, on Thursday with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee S. Pinchasin, to get an updated closer look.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee S. Pinchasin explains on April 4, 2024, what is happening on the water surrounding the collapse, while on board the debris removal vessel the Reynolds. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
Workers are seen on April 4, 2024, in the beginning stages of dismantling the steel from the frame of the collapsed Key Bridge. They are using an exothermic cutting torch. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The site of the collapsed Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, the Dali, are seen from a debris retrieval vessel, The Reynolds, on April 4, 2024.
The site of the collapsed Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, the Dali, are seen from a debris removal vessel, the Reynolds, on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
A bird flies around the wreckage site on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
A fuel barge being towed passes through the new, temporary channel near the Key Bridge collapse on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The site of the collapsed Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, The Dali, are seen from a debris retrieval vessel, The Reynolds, on April 4, 2024.
The site of the collapsed Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, the Dali, are seen from a debris removal vessel, the Reynolds, on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The Reynolds removes debris from the water surrounding the site of the Key Bridge and the Dali. Some of the wood is from the bridge collapse. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
A support column of the Key Bridge is framed by the steel remaining above water on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The Reynolds removes debris from the water surrounding the site of the Key Bridge and the Dali. Some of the wood is from the bridge collapse. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
Pieces of the road on the Key Bridge are still visible above water on April 4, 2024
Pieces of the road from the Key Bridge are still visible above water on April 4, 2024 (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
A large crane sits on the water near the site of the Key Bridge collapse on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The site of the collapsed Key Bridge and the container ship that toppled it, the Dali, are seen from a debris retrieval vessel, the Reynolds, on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
A Coast Guard ship sits out near the wreckage of the Dali on April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
The Dali held thousands of shipping containers as its cargo. Those containers are waiting to be removed and haven't yet because of the weather. They plan to start removing as early as today, April 4, 2024.
The Dali held thousands of shipping containers as its cargo. Those containers haven't been removed yet because of the weather, but their removal could start as early as today, April 4, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)

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