The Biden administration approved the request submitted by Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Thursday (Mar. 28) to initiate clean-up operations on the remnants of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, merely hours after making the request.
In a press release by the US Department of Transportation, Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the $60 million funding would "serve as a down payment toward initial costs, and additional Emergency Relief program funding will be made available as work continues."
In response, Moore thanked Buttigieg for the swift approval.
"We are deeply grateful to President Biden, to Secretary Buttigieg, to our federal delegation, and all of our federal partners," he told a press conference.
It was previously reported that the first two bodies recovered from the Patapsco River were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26. They were both found inside a pickup truck and allegedly drowned when the bridge collapsed.
Three other presumably deceased men were also identified as Miguel Luna, Maynor Suazo, and José López. A fourth person is yet to be identified.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said that he was still hoping to recover the bodies of all four of them, who were yet to be pulled from the Patapsco, despite the US Coast Guard calling off the search operations.
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