March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

A National Transportation Safety Board official said that the structure of the collapsed Baltimore bridge will be looked into as part of the agency's investigation.

"There's some questions about the structure of the bridge," NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said.

Homendy said that NTSB is "aware of what a structure should have" and will look into how the Francis Scott Key Bridge was built and investigate the structure itself.

"All of that will be a part of our investigation. We go very broad in our investigation," she said.

More than 12 hours after a cargo ship hit a Baltimore bridge, causing it to collapse, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said focus is still on finding people.

Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said she could not share many details about what happened yet and the priority is search and rescue operations.

The NTSB is leading the investigation into the incident at the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

At least six people are still unaccounted for, officials said previously.

The Singapore-registered DALI container ship that struck the Baltimore bridge dropped its anchor prior to impact as part of its emergency procedure, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the agency will look into if and when the ship dropped the anchor, but there is no information as of now.

The National Safety Board's investigation will look "in-depth" at safety information, anything that may have occurred before Tuesday's incident, any safety history for the vessel and any sort of maintenance that was done, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board decided not to board the ship today while the search-and-rescue operations are underway for the missing people, Chair Jennifer Homendy said.

Meanwhile, the engineering team assisting in the investigation is trying to get the recorder available on the ship, she said. She declined to provide more information on the recorders.

“We have an engineering team, we have survival factors and then we have a team here that is getting the recorders," she said.

"We do have some information, but we need to verify that information first before I provide that information," she added.

A voyage data recorder will be critical to the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, agency chair Jennifer Homendy said on Tuesday.

She stated that a recorder team is onsite as part of the investigation efforts.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said there is a lot of information that officials need to collect following the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Sott Key Bridge.

A team of 24 experts will dig into nautical operations, vessel operations, safety history records, owners, operators, company policy and any sort of safety management systems or programs, Homendy said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the agency is "standing back" to allow the US Coast Guard to continue their search and rescue operations, as NTSB gathers more information from the command post.

"There is a lot of information that we can begin to collect," Homendy said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the agency will not answer questions about injuries or the possible of fatalities following from the Baltimore bridge collapse.

Homendy directed reporters to other agencies for updates. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

Six people remain unaccounted for following the bridge collapse. Two people were rescued from the water earlier Tuesday.