FBI opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse, AP source says

The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, focusing on the circumstances that led up to it and whether all federal laws were followed, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The FBI was present aboard the cargo ship Dali and conducted court-approved law enforcement activities, the agency said in a statement Monday.

The investigation was first reported by the Washington Post.

The container ship Dali was leaving the Port of Baltimore in the early hours of March 26, loaded with cargo and heading for Sri Lanka, when it struck one of the bridge’s support columns, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River and killing six members of a road works were sent. crew plummeting to their deaths.

Divers have recovered three bodies from the underwater wreckage, while the remaining three victims are still missing.

Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said last week that investigators are focusing on the electrical power system of the massive container ship that veered off course. The ship experienced power problems shortly before the crash, as evidenced by videos showing the lights going off and coming back on.

Homendy said the information from the ship’s voyage data recorder is relatively simple, “so the information in the engine room will help us tremendously.”