Baltimore is allowing people to buy homes for next to nothing to try to improve neighbourhoods.

The Justice Department said repair costs should be carried by the companies responsible, not US citizens.

"That was the hardest day of my life," says a widow who lost her husband when the span collapsed.

Julio Cervantes Suarez says he watched friends and relatives die after plunging off bridge hit by cargo ship.

Some will remain in the city to assist an investigation into the deadly collision.

The 21 sailors have been on-board the container ship in Baltimore since it struck the Key Bridge in late March.

The city argues that allowing the foreign crew to leave will interfere in the federal investigation.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said the area was "safe for transit", nearly three months after the disaster.