The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into the possibility of criminal wrongdoing in the collision that resulted in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland last month.
According to ABC News, the investigation will determine whether or not the crew of the Dali left port knowing that there was a technical problem with the ship, which ultimately led to the vessel losing power and drifting into one of the support beams for the bridge.
On Monday, FBI agents boarded the ship, which is still in the harbor where the collision took place.
“The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity,” said the FBI’s Baltimore office in a statement.
“Federal agents today are conducting a court-approved search of the Dali,” said a Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman. “We have no further comment at this time.”
The incident took place on March 26th, when the Dali struck one of the critical support beams for the bridge in the early morning hours, causing the entire structure to collapse in an instant. The collapse killed six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time, while two other workers survived. There were no injuries onboard the ship, although the bridge partially falling onto the ship led to several containers being knocked off and into the channel.
The collision itself was captured on a surveillance camera, with the footage depicting the lights on the ship suddenly going out in the moments leading up to the crash.