Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Indian Crew That Saved Lives With Timely Alarm Still Stuck

The crew members onboard the ship that collided with the Baltimore bridge on March 26 are still on the ship, after five days have passed.

Workers start to clear the channel of the twisted metal and concrete of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Source : Getty

Singaporean ship, Dali sits motionless in the Baltimore Harbor after its collision with a large section of Francis Scott Key Bridge that took place five days ago but the 22 crew members with 20 Indian nationals and at least one Sri Lankan national are still stuck onboard. The ship that collided with the bridge on March 26, killing six people, still remains lodged in the wreckage with chunks of steal extending above the water.     

Following the crash, one of th crew members was briefly hospitalised but was discharged later and returned to the ship remaining stationary on the Patapsco River, reported Forbes. 

Why Are Crew Members Still Onboard?

The crew members are still on the ship as they cooperate with the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board which is looking into the cause of the accident. While no action has been taken yet, the crew members are answering a deluge of questions from the investigators who boarded the ship last week, as per the Forbes report. 

It is not clear as to how long the crew will remain on the ship though NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the crew had electricity and food in their quarters, noting “the cook was cooking when I got onboard. It smelled very good.” 

“They’re not sitting in the dark right now, but [the ship] cannot move,” the NTSB chair told the reporters on Wednesday. 

When Will The Crew Leave The Ship

It is still not known when the crew members will be allowed to get off the ship. In a statement issued on Friday, the Key Bridge unified command said they "do not have a plan for getting the crewmembers" off the vessel, reported the Washington Post. 

Unless the safety concerns change, the crew members “will most likely disembark when the boat is moved or taken out of the water.”

Moving the ship was a second priority, said the officials, after reopening the shipping lane in and out of the Port of Baltimore. 

If the crew members leave the ship and come ashore into the United States, they would need shore passes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as per the Washington Post report.