19. January 2025

Loose ship wire linked to deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, investigators confirm

A loose wire on a cargo ship caused a power outage that likely led to the 2024 fatal collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, U.S. investigators have announced.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated during a Tuesday hearing that the crash of the Dali container ship into the bridge— which killed six workers—was “avoidable.

Police stationed at the bridge’s ends were notified that the ship had strayed from its intended path but failed to alert the construction team’s inspector.

The NTSB noted that if the six workers had been informed when police were, they might have had time to evacuate.

“There would have been approximately one minute and 29 seconds to evacuate” before the collision, NTSB engineer Scott Parent told the Washington Post.

He added that this timeframe could have been “sufficient for them to drive to a section of the bridge that did not collapse.

In the early morning hours of 26 March 2024, several vehicles on the Francis Scott Key Bridge plunged into the icy waters of Baltimore’s Patapsco River after the Dali container ship crashed into one of its pillars. Six workers lost their lives.

Tuesday’s hearing revealed the potential causes of the tragic incident, as outlined in the NTSB’s year-long investigation.

The agency identified multiple contributing factors, including electrical power loss from a faulty cable, issues with the ship’s fuel pump, and a lack of measures to reduce the bridge’s vulnerability. The NTSB also reviewed its safety recommendations.

The findings confirmed those of a 2024 NTSB preliminary report, which cited faulty cables as the probable cause of an electrical blackout on the Dali in the final moments before the collision.

“This tragedy should never have happened. Lives should never have been lost. Like all accidents we investigate, this was avoidable,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at the hearing.

The deadly incident severely disrupted Baltimore’s major U.S. shipping port while it was closed and severed a key interstate roadway.

Officials initially estimated that repairs would be completed by 2028 at a cost of roughly $1.9bn (£1.4bn). However, a Monday update pegged the total repair cost at closer to $5bn and pushed the completion timeline to 2030.

“Just as families across the country are dealing with rising costs, so is Maryland,” Democratic Governor Wes Moore said in a Monday statement.

“Trade policies from Washington, D.C. have driven up prices for everything—including the essential materials we need to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

“Still, despite this new economic reality, our resolve remains unshakable,” he added.

What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse

Behind the scenes of the Baltimore bridge collapse

Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, weeks after bridge collapse

Police bullied me into admitting murder, says man wrongly jailed for 38 years

UK inflation rate falls for first time since March to 3.6%

‘Scotland cash in almost 30 years of glorious failure as dreams come true’

‘It would have been better if they’d killed me’: A forgotten war destroying women’s lives

On the front line of Europe’s standoff with Russia’s sanction-busting shadow fleet

Is this what spying by China can look like?

First kiss dates back 21 million years, say scientists

Epstein saga reveals Republican rifts - and the power of Trump’s base

MI5’s ‘Chinese spies’ alert and Trump defends MBS

‘I worked, I paid taxes - then the bank took my home’

Baby Shark: How a 90-second clip created a $400m business

Tech Decoded newsletter: Follow the world’s top tech stories and trends - sign up

Police bullied me into admitting murder, says man wrongly jailed for 38 years

‘I worked, I paid taxes - then the bank took my home’

Our son’s about to turn three - finding new childcare has left us at our wits’ end

MI5’s ‘Chinese spies’ alert and Trump defends MBS

Hotel adverts banned over misleadingly cheap rooms

Release of Epstein files awaits Trump’s signoff after clearing Congress

Is this what spying by China can look like?

‘Scotland cash in almost 30 years of glorious failure as dreams come true’

Tech giant seeking $1.7bn from Mike Lynch’s estate after yacht death

Epstein saga reveals Republican rifts - and the power of Trump’s base

Watch Nicôle Lecky’s provocative new drama

Which celebrity will stand the heat in the kitchen?

Antiques experts search for their latest treasures

Jools Holland celebrates Walking to New Orleans