Investigators recover black box from cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge

Federal safety investigators said they have recovered a black box recording data from a cargo ship that crashed into the Baltimore Bridge, and divers on Wednesday continued to search for the bodies of six workers who fell into the Patapsco River when the bridge collapsed.

Investigators with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board hope the data box will help answer questions about why the Dali cargo ship lost power shortly after setting sail for Sri Lanka in the darkness early Tuesday morning, then crashed into two main support columns minutes later one. Francis Scott Key Bridge.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy said investigators also plan to interview the ship’s crew, who issued an SOS call shortly before the collision with the bridge, a warning that gave police and transportation officials time to stop motorists. Go up to both ends of the bridge.

Workers from Mexico and several Central American countries have been filling potholes on major U.S. East Coast highways across the bridge. Most of the collapsed bridge fell on top of the freighter’s bow, but work to clear the debris has not yet begun.

Maryland State Trooper Roland Butler told US media that rescuers did not know where the remains of the six workers who fell into the frigid waters were, but said, “We intend to do our best to help these families find closure.”

Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN that local, state and federal dive teams will begin underwater mapping of the incident area on Wednesday.

The disaster forced the closure of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, one of the busiest ports in the United States, halting cargo shipments in and out of the city, as well as cruise ship vacations.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said closing the port would have “significant and lasting impacts on the supply chain.” The Port of Baltimore handles more automotive freight than any other U.S. port and will surpass 750,000 vehicles by 2022, according to port data.

President Joe Biden vowed on Tuesday that the bridge would be rebuilt as soon as possible and the federal government would pay for it, but some analysts said the new bridge could take at least a year to complete.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the end of rescue efforts for the missing workers before dark Tuesday night was “a truly heartbreaking end to a very challenging day.” The governor said authorities at the federal, state and local levels will use all available resources to recover their remains.

Guatemala’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Tuesday that two of the workers were Guatemalan nationals – a 26-year-old from the Peten region and a 35-year-old from the Chiquimulla region.

A nonprofit that serves Baltimore’s immigrant community said one of the missing workers is from El Salvador, has lived in Maryland for 19 years and is married with three children. News outlets identified other workers as coming from Mexico and Honduras.

Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots Association, which represents workers who operate sea vessels, said the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali suffered a “complete loss of power” to its engines and power minutes before the collision.

Video showed the bridge quickly collapsed into the Dali River after colliding with support columns. The ship is 48 meters wide and 300 meters long, and is fully loaded with cargo containers.

Synergy Marine Group, the operator of the Dali, issued a statement saying that all 20 crew members and two Maryland port pilots on board were missing and there were no reports of injuries on board.

U.S. news outlets reported that an inspection of the Dalí in a Chilean port last year found defects related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.”

An inspection at the Port of San Antonio on June 27 noted problems involving gauges and thermometers. But subsequent inspections found no defects.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement that the ship passed two separate foreign port inspections in June and September last year. The ship said that following an inspection in June, the faulty fuel pressure gauge was corrected before the ship left port.

The 47-year-old, 2.5-kilometer-long Francis Scott Key Bridge is the main connection point for interstate highways that circle Baltimore. Biden said that on a normal day, 30,000 cars cross the bridge.

The bridge is named for Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a poem that was later set to music and eventually became the U.S. national anthem.

The poem was inspired to write after witnessing the British bombardment of the main American military fort in Baltimore in 1814 during the war that began in 1812.