Baltimore bridge collapse: two bodies recovered from water, officials say
- Victor Nwoko
- Mar 27, 2024
- 3 min read
The bodies of two men trapped in their vehicle have been recovered from the waters beneath the Baltimore bridge that collapsed early on Tuesday when a container ship crashed into it, officials announced on Wednesday.
The authorities identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, a 35-year-old originally from Mexico who was living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and was living in Dundalk, Maryland.
Divers found the bodies in a red pickup truck in the Patapsco River near the mid-span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. They were found on Wednesday morning and their loved ones were informed in person by officials on Wednesday afternoon, the public and media were told at an evening briefing.
"Four other construction workers who had been on the bridge remain missing and are presumed dead," authorities said. "The workers on the bridge, six in total, came from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador," authorities said.
"All search efforts have been exhausted," authorities stated, "and based on sonar scans, authorities said they 'firmly' believed the other vehicles with victims inside were encased in superstructures and concrete from the collapsed bridge." A co-worker of the people missing said yesterday that he had been told the workers were on break and sitting in their trucks parked on the bridge when it crumpled.
"The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, told the families of the victims: 'Estamos contigo, ahora y siempre' – 'We are with you, now and always.'"
"The scope of the bridge disaster had already widened on Wednesday after the six construction workers had been declared dead and investigators recovered the black box from the ship whose crash brought one of America’s busiest ports to a grinding halt."
"Lawmakers in Maryland drafted an emergency bill to cover the salaries of workers affected by the shutdown of the port."
"On social media, Bill Ferguson, the state senate president, said more than 15,000 people in the region relied on daily port operations 'to put food on the table.'"
“'The human cost of lives lost yesterday is overwhelming and tragic. The economic and stability loss to the thousands impacted in the days ahead cannot be understated,'” Ferguson said.
"Jesús Campos, a construction worker, said he knew the missing crew members and that the men all worked for the construction company Brawner Builders."
“'It’s a difficult situation … my friends were working on that bridge,'” Campos said, adding that the workers were low-income immigrants who used their wages to support their families in the US and abroad.
"The named victims include 49-year-old Miguel Luna from El Salvador, a husband and father of three who lived in Maryland for over 19 years, and 38-year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, originally from Azacualpa in Honduras, a married father of two who had lived in the US for 18 years and launched his own maintenance business."
"Guatemala’s foreign ministry also confirmed that two of the six workers were Guatemalan nationals, aged 26 and 35 and originally from San Luis, Petén, and Camotán, Chiquimula, respectively."
"Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said three Mexican nationals had also been also working on the bridge when it collapsed." He added that one was rescued while two others remain missing.
"In a statement on Wednesday, the Mexican foreign ministry said that the person who was rescued was originally from Michoacán and was recovering from his injuries." "The two people who are missing were originally from Veracruz and Michoacán," the ministry said.
"A crowdfunding campaign set up by the Latino Racial Justice Circle, a non-profit organization serving the Baltimore area, had raised nearly $100,000 for the victims’ families as of Wednesday afternoon." "The funds will be distributed across the families and will be put towards basic needs including rent, groceries, and utilities," the campaign said.
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