Baltimore bridge collapse investigators reveal timeline of events leading up to ship crash

Federal investigators have unveiled new details about what occurred in the minutes before a hulking cargo ship slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, including the pilot’s urgent call for assistance and authorities’ efforts to clear people off the bridge.

Federal investigators unveiled new details about what occurred in the minutes before a hulking cargo ship lost power and slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, including the pilot’s urgent call for assistance and authorities’ efforts to clear people off the bridge. The first sign of distress came just under three minutes before the crash when the cargo ship’s pilot called over the radio requesting any tugboats in the area to respond to the vessel, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a news conference Wednesday. Within a minute, police officers on either end of the bridge were ordered to stop traffic crossing the bridge, said Marcel Muise, the NTSB investigator in charge of the collapse inquiry – an action several officials have credited with saving lives. Investigators had their first full day at the scene Wednesday and witnessed the “utter devastation” of the mangled bridge, parts of which are still draped over the ship’s bow, Homendy said. “When I look at something like that, I am thinking not about the container ships that are coming through, not about traffic getting back up and running on the bridge. I’m thinking about the families who’ve lost loved ones,” Homendy said. Six construction workers who were on the bridge are now presumed dead, and two of their bodies were found trapped in a submerged truck on Wednesday, police said. Search efforts for the remaining four have been paused until salvage crews can clear heavy underwater debris that is believed to be encasing their remains.