A channel has opened for vessels clearing wreckage at the Baltimore bridge collapse site

Officials say the U.S. Coast Guard has opened a temporary alternate channel for vessels clearing debris at the site of the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Capt. David O’Connell is the federal on-scene coordinator. He said in a statement Monday that it is “an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore." Crews are undertaking the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse into the Patapsco River after a freighter collision last week. Officials described the establishment of the temporary channel as part of a phased approach to opening the main one.