'It's a coverup': Internet unimpressed as FBI opens a criminal investigation into the Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a criminal investigation into the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The probe is centered around the events leading up to the collision of the Dali ship with the bridge on March 26.

What is the FBI looking for in the Baltimore bridge collapse? 

The investigation will determine if the crew members on the 985-foot Dali were aware of any “serious problems with the ship” before they attempted to leave the Baltimore port, the Washington Post reported. 

The investigation also focuses on compliance with Federal laws. The investigation is focused on the “circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed,” a source told the Associated Press.

On Monday, April 15, federal investigators boarded the 985-foot Dali ship, as per the report. More people arrived in boats shortly after and joined the investigators onboard.

The FBI confirmed in a statement to the publication, "FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

The agents are “collecting physical evidence and data from inside the ship” relating to the moments before, during, and after the impact," the source told the publication. 

Baltimore takes legal steps as NTSB leads separate investigation

In response to the bridge collapse, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M Scott announced on Monday, April 15, that the city is taking “legal steps.”

The city has hired law firms “to launch legal action to hold the wrongdoers responsible and to mitigate the immediate and long-term harm caused to Baltimore City residents.”

Notably, The National Transportation Safety Board is leading its own investigation into the cause of the Key Bridge collapse and other relevant safety issues.

“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.

How did Dali hit Francis Scott Key Bridge?

The Singapore-flagged cargo ship, with 22 crew members onboard, collided with a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1.28 am on March 26.

This caused the bridge to snap and tumble into the Patapsco River below. A live stream of the catastrophe showed cars and trucks on the bridge just before impact.

Investigators said the Dali’s lights suddenly shut off four minutes before flicking back on. At 1.25 am, videos showed dark black smoke billowing from the ship’s chimney.

At 1.26 am, the ship appeared to turn and lights flickered again before it hit the support.

Six construction workers died during the incident

Officials said at the time that eight workers were pouring concrete to fix potholes on the roadway on the 2.6-km-long, four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River above where the ship was hit at the time of the crash.

Two people were rescued from the river. Six were reported missing, three bodies were recovered and the other three were presumed dead.

They were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, Miguel Luna, Maynor Suazo Sandoval, Jose Lopez, and Carlos Hernandez.

All six victims were Latino immigrants, hailing from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

The two workers recovered from the wreckage were identified as Alejandro Fuentes, 35, from Mexico, and Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, from Guatemala.

According to the US Sun, Dali was carrying 56 containers of hazardous material, including highly flammable chemicals, weighing 213 million pounds before the collision.

Internet not impressed as FBI launches case into the Baltimore bridge collapse 

Amid many conspiracy theories revolving the collision, the internet seems unimpressed with the FBI case into the Baltimore bridge collapse with people suggesting the investigation will lead to nowhere. 

"It's a coverup. They're burying evidence. It'll be another bridge-to-nowhere investigation," commented one on X. "It's a conspiracy until it's not," commented one more. 

"Let the cover-up begin. The corrupt government is so predictable now," wrote one more. "This will be investigated just like the Hunter Biden laptop, and the Hillary Blackberrys," another user wrote.

Some criticized the earlier investigation concluding it was an accident. "It was clearly a rush to judgment by the FBI," wrote one. One more wrote, "Too bad the FBI will cover it all up... Corruption at its finest."

A user wrote, "Will they really investigate anything? Will they ever make the truth public? Zero confidence in the FBI these days."

"I'm with you but this doesn't indicate it being intentional. It could be a criminal negligence case as well," wrote another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.