There is no “credible indication” of terrorism involved in the demise of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it snapped at around 01:30 local time Tuesday following a container ship crashing into it.
The landmark structure in the U.S. city of Baltimore collapsed into the Patapsco River in the aftermath; however, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has made clear that “the preliminary investigation points to an accident. We haven’t seen any credible evidence of a terrorist attack.”
Special agent Bill DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore field office agreed, saying, “The FBI on very first looking at and assessing this matter from an investigative standpoint, I want to be clear there is no specific or credible information to suggest there are ties to terrorism in this incident.”
“The FBI has been part of this response from the beginning… we will bring whatever resources that the FBI has to bear. We’ve already brought our crisis response, our victim services, and just recently our underwater search evidence recovery teams are on site,” DelBagno added.
“As the investigation goes on we will take it to its logical conclusion along with our partners. To the people of Baltimore, I ask you to be patient as we go through this and as information becomes available to us.”
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali after the bridge collapsed, Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 2024. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with six people still missing.
They are believed to be part of a construction crew that was fixing potholes on the bridge at the time it collapsed.