The Dali, a Singapore cargo ship lost steering control and collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in what has become a worldwide news now. The incident happened at 1:30 AM on Tuesday and since then, investigation has been underway to find out how such a huge mishap could occur, causing loss of infrastructure but more importantly, lives.
Divers are currently looking for people who may have drowned after the collapse of the bridge, a number that would have been much bigger if the Indian crew aboard had not alerted authorities in time. In around 2 minutes between the call from the crew and the collision, the authorities were able to stop traffic on both sides of the bridge, reducing the loss of life significantly.
The said crew comprised of 22 Indians. The administration, including US President Joe Biden, has appreciated the efforts of the employees on The Dali, however, there has been considerable racism online as well. This includes comments from Indians.
As pointed out by many, a local pilot has to be involved in such marine operations, so the narrative is highly corrupted. When an incident of this nature happens, the focus should be on finding out the reason behind it so that lives are not put at risk again. The blame-game, while interesting to many, leads to no effective solution.