What are the FBI’s reasons for opening a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Baltimore bridge?
FBI agents boarded the Dali container ship responsible for bringing down the Francis Scott Key Bridge after slamming into a support pillar last month.
Clean-up and salvage efforts continue to remove the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the shipping channel and allow for traffic to reach the port once again. Last month, a 985-foot Singapore-flagged ship, the Dali, lost power and veered into one of the bridges support pillars causing a catastrophic structural failure.
The FBI has now launched a criminal probe into the Baltimore Bridge collapse to investigate the events that led up to the Dali leaving port and whether the crew had prior knowledge that the cargo ship had serious system problems before setting sail. In video of the ship as it was heading out of the harbor the lights appear to go out and then shortly thereafter the engines lost power moments before it slammed into the bridge.
What are the FBI’s reasons for opening a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Baltimore bridge?
On Monday, FBI agents boarded the vessel still marooned at the site of the accident to conduct “court authorized law enforcement activity,” according to a statement from the FBI. The Washington Post was first to report that shortly after sunrise, people began boarding the Dali.
The Justice Department and the Baltimore FBI office confirmed federal agents had boarded the container ship to perform a “court-approved search.” Agents will be looking for clues to help determine how events unfolded leading up to the crash. As well as figure out who should be held responsible for the Key Bridge collapse that resulted in the death of six road workers plunged into the chilly waters of the Patapsco River. Two others survived, one of them was saved by first responders, pulled from the water.
The Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced on Monday that the city has hired two law firms to work alongside their own lawyers. It is part of the city’s efforts to “hold the wrongdoers responsible and to mitigate the immediate and long-term harm caused” by the disruption to port traffic and loss of the vital transport infrastructure.
Likewise, lawyers representing three of the road workers who were on the bridge and thrown into the river when it collapsed announced they would be pursuing legal action. They are planning to fight a motion filed in federal court just days after the disaster by the Dali’s owner and manager to limit its liability.