As of: March 28, 2024, 6:43 a.m
By: Julian Mayr
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The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after a collision with a cargo ship. We are not only looking for missing people, but also for the reasons.
Update from March 28th, 6:37 a.m.:
The data from the black box of the ship “Dali” has now been analyzed. They reveal that shortly before the collision with the Key Bridge, the ship made a distress call and requested the assistance of a tugboat. The records also show that the crew reported a power outage. The results of that evaluation were presented by federal officials at a press conference on Wednesday.
At this point, the situation in Baltimore had already been classified as purely a salvage operation. For those still missing in the icy water, there is no hope of survival. On Wednesday, rescue teams were able to rescue two dead people.
Current status of the investigation into the Baltimore accident: Jennifer Homendy (center), chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), speaks at a press conference with lead investigator Marcel Muise (left) and NTSB member Alvin Brown (right). © Jasper Colt/Imago
Possible cause of bridge collapse in Baltimore: Video and secret service report provide clues
First report from March 26th, 4:47 p.m.:
Baltimore - While the rescue operations on site are in full swing and the news situation about the tragic bridge collapse in Baltimore changes almost every minute, there is already wild speculation as to what caused the fatal collision of the cargo ship "Dali" with the Francis Scott Key Bridge could have caused. Was it human error or a technical defect? Could the ship's unusual course towards the bridge pier have been chosen deliberately? A wide variety of theories were circulating.
Search for cause of accident: Bridge collapse in Baltimore probably not an “intentional act”
At around 1:30 a.m. local time, the cargo ship slowly approached the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, USA. However, instead of choosing the path between the bridge pillars, the Singapore-flagged container ship heads towards one of the support pillars. Video recordings document how the bridge collapses in a very short time after the collision with the ship.
Numerous experts comment on the cause of the wandering. However, speculation that it could have been a deliberate act or even an attack is considered unlikely. Alejandro Mayorkas, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, said on X that there was “no indication that this was an intentional act.”
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Experts believe that technical failure was the reason for the collision between the coin container ship and the bridge
David McFarlane, a maritime safety expert, told
Sky News
that a technical failure of the ship was likely. "The most likely cause is engine or steering gear failure, but we won't know until authorities are on board," McFarlane said. In his opinion, human error was less likely because several people were on duty and possible errors by the crew should have been noticed.
Video footage from Reuters journalist Matthew Keys also points to a technical failure as the cause of the disaster. Images shared on X show that shortly before the accident, the power on the cargo ship apparently went out several times. According to Keys, this was also officially confirmed.
The video documents how the lights flicker twice - presumably short-term power outages. Then black smoke rises from the ship. Power appears to have been restored shortly before impact. But at this point a collision was already inevitable.
The ship's crew sends out a warning message shortly before the crash
A report from the US intelligence agency CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) says
that the container ship Dali "lost propulsion" as it left port and Maryland authorities were warned by the crew of a possible collision, according to
ABC News
became. Maryland Governor Wes Moore called the crew “heroes”; they “saved lives.”
Despite the possibility that a technical defect during the journey led to the collision, human error before the start of the journey may have played a role. “Before a ship sets sail, we have to check all elements of the ship,” the
BBC
quoted a Singapore-based shipping expert as saying, speaking on condition of anonymity. If the crew had completed the checklist for departure, then something had obviously been overlooked, said the expert.
The last check of the cargo ship Dali revealed no defects
CNN
reported that the cargo ship Dali was involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp in Belgium back in 2016. This was also confirmed to the US broadcaster by the port authority. There were apparently no injuries at that time, only parts of the fuselage were damaged.
According to CNN,
the “Dali” was
last inspected on September 9, 2023. At that time, the US Coast Guard found no defects. Just a few months earlier, however, Chilean authorities had confirmed that the ship had deficiencies in its main and auxiliary engines, according to the US broadcaster.
While further investigations have yet to provide a complete picture of what happened in the accident, an intensive search is currently underway in Baltimore for survivors of the bridge collapse. However, time is of the essence as missing people can only survive for a few hours in the cold waters of the Patapsco River.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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