DIVERS have recovered the Black Box-style data recorder from the cargo ship that destroyed the Baltimore bridge.
US investigators will probe device for clues as they desperately try to piece together how the horrific disaster happened.
Divers from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) boarded the ship which remains wedged beneath the wreckage.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said they will examine whether dirty fuel led to the ship's catastrophic power loss.
Dali - a 95,000-tonne container ship - was left out of control drifting in the Patapsco River in the earlier hours of Tuesday.
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She then ploughed into one of the struts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
The steel structure was then sent plunging into the bone-chilling 8C river.
Within seconds the iconic bridge was gone, taking with at least eight construction workers.
Cops managed to close the bridge at the last second and prevented any other cars from driving onto the falling span.
Two workmen were rescued from the water, and the six others are missing and presumed dead.
The bridge collapse is expected to cause chaos for trade - but US President Joe Biden has vowed to rebuild the structure.
Miguel Luna, 49, was the first to be named of the missing construction workers.
His wife, María del Carmen Castellón, says she is anxiously waiting for news of her husband's whereabouts.
“They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now, they can’t give us information,” she told Telemundo 44.
“[We feel] devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know if they’ve rescued them yet.
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"We’re just waiting to hear any news."
The construction crew was filing in potholes moments before the bridge collapsed.
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said that infrared and sonar technology revealed that at least five vehicles are at the bottom of the Patapsco River.
It is believed there are three passenger cars, a cement truck, and one unknown vehicle which fell off the bridge.
Mayor Brandon Scott called the incident an "unthinkable tragedy."
"This is a tragedy you can never imagine," Scott said during a news conference.
"Never did you think you would see the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of a movie. Our focus should be the preservation of life."
Mayor Scott said a preliminary investigation suggested the collision was an accident.
The FBI has ruled out the incident was linked to a terror attack.
Dali is a Singapore-flagged vessel chartered by the Danish shipping company Maersk and en route from Baltimore to the Sri Lankan city of Colombo.
The ship, which can carry 10,000 20-foot shipping containers, was also involved in an incident in 2016 in the Port of Antwerp in Belgium.
In that incident, the Dali suffered damage to the stern and transom after colliding with a portion of the stone loading dock at the port.
Managers of the ship revealed they're working with Baltimore officials to uncover what led to the crash.
The ship's management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, said the crew onboard dropped its anchor before impact as part of their emergency efforts to avoid the collision.
During a Tuesday morning press conference, Governor Wes Moore said the cargo ship's crew made a mayday call after losing propulsion ahead of the impact.
Moore said workers on the bridge stopped incoming traffic from continuing onto the bridge in a rapid response.
"These people are heroes," the governor said.
The four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge was an essential piece of infrastructure in Maryland, dubbed as a major milestone in the state's transportation planning.
Construction of the bridge began in 1972 and opened for traffic on March 23, 1977.
The steel-arched bridge was considered an engineering marvel at the time.
The bridge was critical to Interstate 695, which carried north and southbound traffic around the city of Baltimore.
The structure spanned from the Patapsco River to Baltimore's Inner Harbor out to the Chesapeake Bay.
It was also used as an alternative route to connect drivers to Washington DC and parts of Pennsylvania.
About 30,000 Marylanders cross over the Key Bridge every day.
Governor Moore said: "To hear the words 'the Key Bridge has collapsed' is shocking, and heartbreaking."
The governor said reconstruction on the bridge will be a long-term build and declined to comment on when port operations will resume.
Moore said the bridge was fully up to code.
President Joe Biden said the federal government will pay for the bridge repair costs.
"As I told Governor Moore, I've directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge, as soon as humanly possible," the president said.
