The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, according to a source who spoke with The Associated Press.
The investigation, which was first publicized by the Washington Post, focuses on the 985-foot container ship Dali and at least partially examines whether the crew knew the ship had major system issues when they left the Port of Baltimore.
“Authorities are looking into the events leading up to the moment the ship lost power before slamming into one of the bridge’s support pillars, the Post reported, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter,” Fox News reported.
In a statement to Fox, the FBI confirmed the bureau “is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. There is no other public information available, and we will have no further comment.”
“My office generally will not confirm the existence of or otherwise comment about investigations,” Erek L. Barron, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, said in a statement to the Post. “However, the public should know, whether it’s gun violence, civil rights abuse, financial fraud, or any other threat to public safety or property, we will seek accountability for anyone who may be responsible.”
The criminal investigation is distinct from the one the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting to ascertain the cause of the collapse and assess safety precautions.
The investigation is being conducted in conjunction with Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s announcement on Monday that the city is launching “legal action to hold the wrongdoers responsible and to mitigate the immediate and long-term harm caused to Baltimore City residents” in response to the bridge collapse.
“The City of Baltimore will take decisive action to hold responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy, including the owner, charterer, manager/operator, and the manufacturer of the M/V Dali, as well as any other potentially liable third parties,” the mayor said in a statement.
He later received a briefing on the situation in the water and its effects on the area from local officials, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard while on the ground.
To prevent an even higher death toll, the president also greeted the police officers who assisted in obstructing traffic to the bridge just before its collision with a ship.
“I’m here to say your nation has your back, and I mean it,” Biden declared as he stood on the shoreline in Dundalk, a small town outside of Baltimore, overlooking the fallen bridge. “Your nation has your back.”
When a massive cargo ship struck the bridge in the middle of the night on March 26, eight workers—immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—were filling potholes on it. The bridge collapsed. In the days that followed, the bodies of two more men were found and two more men were saved.
The post FBI Opens Criminal Probe Into Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Report appeared first on Conservative Brief.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Martin Walsh
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://conservativebrief.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.