US investigators recover data recorder of crashed cargo ship manned by Indian crew
Washington (PTI): 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.
"Not only do we need to get those ships in, there are some ships that are already in there that can't get out. So, it's very important to get that channel open," he said.
Buttigieg also warned of disruptions to supply chains in the near-term.
"The impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply chains. We're talking about the biggest vehicle-handling port in the country that is now out of commission until that channel can be cleared and a bridge that took five years to build," the top official said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
