On Monday evening, demolition teams carried out a planned explosion to dismantle the biggest steel section left of Baltimore's fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge. When the charges were set off, bright orange flashes and plumes of dark smoke erupted, leading to the swift collapse of the steel segment into the water below.

The most extensive truss sections fell, avoiding the stranded Dali cargo vessel, and slipped away from its front end.

Several people were killed from this collapse. Their bodies have been recovered.

This marked a major step in freeing the ship, which has been stuck amid the wreckage since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. The demolished span came crashing down on the ship’s bow and remained resting on its deck for the past six weeks.

Engineers have been preparing for weeks to use explosives to break down the span, which is an estimated 500 feet (152 meters) long and weighs up to 600 tons (544 metric tons). It landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck amidst the wreckage and the port has been closed to most maritime traffic.

The controlled demolition of the largest remaining steel span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was postponed because of weather conditions, officials said Sunday afternoon.

"This is a best practice," Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Monday. "Safety in this operation is our top priority."

Moore noted that there have been no injuries during the cleanup and that the controlled demolition will allow crews to maintain a strong safety record.

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