US investigators on Tuesday concluded their probe(完成调查)of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, where six construction workers were killed.The bridge collapse took place after it was struck by a malfunctioning container ship(发生故障的集装箱船)that had lost its course(偏离航线).

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the probe found"probable cause"(可能原因)that disaster was caused by the ship's loss of electrical power(丧失电力), due to a loose signal wire connection(信号线连接松动).

The Singapore-flagged container ship(新加坡籍集装箱船),dubbed Dali, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Maryland on March 26, 2024, while six construction workers were on the bridge. The workers did not receive advanced warning of the ship's electrical failure and the impending collision(即将发生的碰撞).

What happened to the ship?

The NTSB found that the loosening of an electrical wire was the reason why the ship experienced the two catastrophic blackouts(灾难性停电)and subsequent loss of propulsion and steering(后续的推进和转向系统失灵).

The electrical wire came loose due to a design flaw(设计缺陷)in the specific wire metal sleeve(金属套管)that was meant to ensure the wire's insertion into the electrical terminal. An NTSB video animation, posted on the agency's X account, showed how the wire's labeling band overrode the metal sleeve, preventing the wire from fully connecting and eventually causing it to disconnect.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy described investigators' search for the wire as finding a single loose rivet on the Eiffel Tower. "It's like finding a needle in the haystack(大海捞针),"she said.

Investigators, along with ship manufacturer HD Hyundai Heavy, tested thousands of wires to ultimately find the one that was faulty.

Workers were not notfied in time

The investigation also revealed that the six workers' lives could have been saved, had they been notified immediately.

The time that elapsed between police being notified to block traffic coming onto the bridge and the collision was found to be one minute and 29 seconds.

Officials said the highway workers could have had enough time to drive to a portion of the bridge that did not collapse, if they had been notified in time.

Source: DW