Washington, 27 March

A team of US investigators have boarded the container ship manned by a 22-member Indian crew which crashed into a bridge in the US city of Baltimore and recovered its data recorder, a top official said on Wednesday as authorities probed the cause of the dramatic accident.

 At least eight people went into the water. Six others are presumed dead after the collision involving the Singapore-flagged Dali struck the 2.6km-long Francis Scott Key Bridge as the vessel left the busy port early Tuesday morning.

One of the 22 Indian crew members received minor injuries and was treated and discharged from the hospital, Synergy Marine Group, the owners of the vessel said in a statement.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN that investigators were able to board the Dali ship overnight. "Some investigators boarded late last night to look at the engine room, the bridge and gather any sort of electronics or documentation," Homendy said. "Right now, we do have the data record, which is essentially the ‘black box,’” Homendy said.

“We’ve sent that back to our lab to evaluate and begin to develop a timeline of events that led up to the strike on the bridge.” She indicated that investigators should have information from the vessel's black box later today. Homendy said that a team of 24 investigators will be returning to the ship this morning, with a focus on collecting the perishable evidence, including pictures of the vessel.

Homendy said that interviews with crew members will begin later today. "With respect to those on the vessel, we will also interview fire and rescue and and people that were on the bridge as well," she said.

The four-lane bridge snapped and plunged into the Patapsco River on Tuesday after the container ship bound for Sri Lanka crashed into it. The vessel had lost power and issued a distress call moments before - but could not change course in time to avoid crashing into the bridge, according to US media reports.

Meanwhile, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said if private companies are responsible for the cargo ship crash, they will be held responsible. “To be clear: if any private party is responsible and accountable for this, then they will be held accountable," he told CNN. “But we can’t wait for that to play out to get to work right now,” he said.

Buttigieg predicted a “long road to recovery” for the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Port of Baltimore, saying that getting the bridge back up and the port reopen will be a priority for the Biden administration.

When asked if he had any idea when the Patapsco River channel might reopen, Buttigieg said he did not have an estimated time. However, he said his department was working with relevant authorities, including the US Coast Guard, to get it open as soon as possible. He noted that the conditions of the remaining pier will also impact that timeline.