Collapsed bridge in Baltimore: the story of the five minutes that led to the disaster

Five short minutes scrutinized by researchers. Two days after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, authorities are investigating the moment the freighter Dali lost control before crashing into the building, leaving two dead and four missing.

The American transport security agency (NTSB) launched on March 27 with a chronology plus detailed information on the document, based on the preliminary analysis of the registration of cargo containers, equivalent to a black box. a boat.

power outage

Measuring 300 meters long and 48 meters wide, the Dali, flying the Singapore flag, set sail from the Port of Baltimore dock on Tuesday at 12:39 a.m. bound for Asia, NTSB investigator Marcel Muise said during a news conference. press.

But at 01:25 alarms sounded on board the ship. For reasons investigators are still determining, the ship’s powerful propulsion system shuts down and the lights go out. The blackout, which will last just a minute, will be fatal.

At 01:26 the light returned, but the Dalí had deviated dangerously from its path. The recorder shows that the pilot (who helps the captain guide him out of a port) gives the order to the crew to turn left to avoid the Baltimore Bridge pier. He also requests the assistance of a tugboat. In vain.

As the Dali continued to approach dangerously close to the bridge, the pilot ordered at 01:27 to drop anchor on the port side.

Bridge closed to traffic

Alerted, the Maryland Transportation Authority a few seconds later asked the two teams working on each side of the bridge to close access to traffic. The workers obey, probably saving lives and sacrificing their own.

The collision occurred at 01:29 hours. The Dalí crashed into the bridge pier at an estimated speed of 7 knots, or just under 13 km/h. For about thirty seconds, the ship’s recorder picked up “sounds corresponding to the collision.”

The bridge, used every day by tens of thousands of vehicles, collapsed like a house of cards and entire sections of the structure ended up on top of the ship.

For the US Minister of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, “this type of bridge (…) was simply not designed to withstand a direct impact against an essential support pillar.” The preliminary investigation shows that it was an accident, according to authorities.