‘Black box’ from ship that collided with Baltimore bridge recovered, investigators say

US investigators are promising new details today on the deadly bridge disaster in Baltimore. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board says the investigation is already underway, and key information from the ship has been recovered.

We’ll have more on that in just a moment. Right now, a recovery operation is also underway, with divers trying to find the bodies of the six victims who are now presumed dead. They’re believed to be part of a construction crew working on the bridge when the container ship hit a central pillar. Divers will be searching for them in and around tons of steel and concrete debris.

Let’s go live now to Chris Reyes in Baltimore, standing as close as she can to the scene. Chris, we’re learning this morning of some major developments in this investigation. Bring us up to speed.

“Absolutely, Maryann. Big update from the NTSB this morning. We now know that their investigators were able to board that cargo ship overnight. The ship is still sitting on top of the Patapsco River right behind me. They were able to board the ship, go into the engine room, and examine the bridge structure sitting on top of the cargo ship.

They gathered some documentation, and more importantly, Maryann, they were able to recover the data recorder, also known as the black box.

They have sent that black box to the lab, and they’ll be getting some information from it to piece together a timeline of events leading up to the ship colliding with the bridge. So, potentially, we could get more answers about the power outage that was so visible from the CCTV footage, with the lights flickering.”

We also heard from NTSB chair Jennifer Homedy about what their investigators are prioritizing as they board the ship again later today.

“We have a team of 24 investigators with various specialties. They are focused on collecting the perishable evidence, including pictures and components, that we may need on the vessel or among the structure to begin conducting our investigation. Analysis and really looking at the documents and digging into inspections and what occurred leading up to the striking will take a longer amount of time. Right now, it’s about gathering what would disappear once this is cleaned up. It’s a long road for this investigation, but it begins today.”

We know that NTSB investigators will also be interviewing the crew members on board the ship when the collision happened, as well as the first responders and the crews that blocked the bridge from traffic when the Mayday call came in. We’re also waiting to hear about the divers supposed to go into the water at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. One of the biggest concerns for divers, on top of all the underwater debris, is the low to zero visibility.

And just to add a little bit to that, rain is also in the forecast all day today, which could complicate the mission for the divers.

As for the victims, we’re learning that two of the missing workers were from Guatemala, with one from El Salvador and others from Mexico and Honduras. Yesterday, there was a vigil for friends and family at a church in Baltimore, and more gatherings are expected today. Many of these crew members lived in these communities for years with their families.

A lot of emergency vehicles are going into the site, setting up for what’s scheduled to be a very long day ahead for this massive team on the ground in Baltimore.

Chris Reyes, thank you for your coverage this morning, keeping an eye on the latest developments in Baltimore.