Biden to visit Baltimore to assess bridge collapse damage

Biden to visit Baltimore to assess bridge collapse damage - World - News

By Tori B. Powell From CNN’s Betsy Klein, Michael Williams and Kayla Tausche President Joe Biden will today meet with some of the relatives of the six construction workers who died in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge, the White House said. The White House previously announced Biden would be meeting with local officials and viewing the wreckage of the bridge, which collapsed early last week after a massive cargo ship hit one of its support pillars, sending the bridge into the water and choking the port of Baltimore, which sees millions of dollars of trade every day. Tom Perez, the White House director of intergovernmental affairs who visited with some of the families last week, described “inconsolable” relatives and the urgency with which officials are working to recover the remaining four bodies that remain accounted for in a twisted mess of steel. Perez told CNN he was in touch with the families and is coordinating with various government agencies, including US Citizenship and Immigration Services to coordinate visits to the United States for some relatives. Perez noted that the US is engaged in different processes involving four different countries, in addition to specific requests from the families, including some who want to visit the US and at least one who wants the victim’s body repatriated. From CNN’s Holly Yan, Maria Santana, Melissa Alonso and Allison Gordon They worked the overnight shift fixing potholes on a famed bridge that 30,000 Marylanders relied on daily. But their work ended in tragedy last week when a 213-million-pound cargo vessel crashed into the bridge, plunging the construction workers into the dangerously cold water below. Here’s what we know about the bridge collapse victims: