BALTIMORE (AP) — Engineers on Saturday began working on the intricate process of cutting and lifting the first section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.

The bridge crumpled into Patapsco River on March 26 after cargo ship Dali collided with a main support.

Crews are measuring and cutting steel from the broken structure before attaching straps so it can be lifted onto a barge and floated away, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said Saturday.

Seven floating cranes, including a massive one capable of lifting 1,000 tons, 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats are on site in the water southeast of Baltimore.

Each movement affects what happens next and ultimately how long it will take to remove all the debris and reopen the ship channel and the blocked Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

"I cannot stress enough how important … the first movement of this bridge and of the wreckage is,” Moore Said. “This is going to be a remarkably complicated process," Moore said.

A primary goal for crews is to get a smaller auxiliary ship channel open so tugboats and other small barges may move freely. Crews also want to stabilize the site so divers can continue a search for missing workers who are presumed dead.

The crew of Dali, which is managed by Synergy Marine Group, remains on board with the debris from the bridge around it. They are safe and are being interviewed. They are keeping the ship running as they will be needed to get it out of the channel once more debris has been removed.

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