The search for six construction workers presumed dead after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge resumed Wednesday morning, with details about their identities and surviving family members emerging.
Telemundo Washington, D.C., has identified one of the missing Browner Builders employees as Miguel Luna, a 49-year-old resident of El Salvador who has six children in his family. Two Guatemalans, ages 26 and 35, are also missing, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and colleagues told The Associated Press that the six were sitting in a truck during a break when the disaster struck. said that it was done.
“It’s so hard to explain. I know I was there a month ago and I know the feeling when the trailer goes by. Knowing it’s going to drop. “Imagine that. It’s so hard, you don’t know what to do. You have to do it,” said Jesús Campos, an employee at Browner Builders.
Diplomats said the missing included people from Honduras and Mexico. The Honduran man was identified as Sandova Mayor Yasir Suazo, the Associated Press reported.
Live updates: Baltimore bridge collapse
Recovery efforts resumed Wednesday for construction workers presumed dead after a cargo ship collided with a bridge pillar, causing the structure to collapse. (AP/Matt Rourke)
“They just say we have to wait and they can’t give us any information right now,” Luna’s wife, María del Carmen Castellón, told Telemundo.[We feel] Our hearts are broken because we are devastated, devastated, and still don’t know if they will save them. We’re just waiting for news. ”
The operator of the Dali cargo ship had issued an alert that the ship had lost power shortly before the collision, but the ship was still heading toward the bridge at a “very high speed,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. said Tuesday.
The 985-foot-long vessel struck one of the supports of the 2.6-mile-long bridge, causing it to collapse and falling into the water within seconds.
Emergency responders can be heard saying in dispatch audio that construction workers were working on the bridge during the collapse and “an unknown number of those workers.” [were] It’s in the water.” That prompted the calling of a diving team.
“We need one of you on the south side and one of you on the north side. We want all traffic on the Key Bridge stopped,” Maryland Department of Transportation police dispatch audio recorded shortly before the collapse shows an officer saying, “We need one of you on the south side and one of you on the north side. We want all traffic on the Key Bridge stopped. The approaching vessel has simply lost its rudder and all traffic must be stopped until it is brought back under control.”
Dispatch from emergency response units captures footage of the moment a critical bridge in Baltimore collapses
A container ship rests on the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at night on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Viewed from Sparrows Point, Maryland. (AP/Matt Rourke)
“If you can stop traffic, please make sure there are no people on the bridge right now. There are workers there. The superintendent can notify anyone and see if they can temporarily get them off the bridge. ” he added. .
“10-4, I will get on the bridge once other units get here. All inbound traffic is stopped at this time,” the officer responds.
However, less than a minute later, a police officer could be heard saying in a command voice, “The whole bridge has just fallen! Everybody start, the whole bridge has just fallen!”
“Would that happen if we knew all traffic was stopped?” one of the officers asked.
“The bridge is broken and we can’t get to the other side,” replied another.
The bridge collapsed about two to three minutes after the initial traffic stop call.
Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said in a statement: “Two Guatemalans, aged 26 and 35, from San Luis, Petén, and Camotán, Chiquimula, respectively, are missing following a cargo transport accident that occurred early this Tuesday, March 26th. “It is happening,” he announced. The ship lost control in the Patapsco River and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. ”
“The Guatemalans were part of a total of eight workers who were repairing asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident,” it added. “Two men were rescued, one of them in critical condition.”
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a large bridge spanning the Patapsco River in Baltimore, collapsed after being struck by a large cargo ship on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, prompting a massive emergency response as multiple people were in the water. It was conducted. (Jasper Colt-USA Today)
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The ministry also said it had contacted the two missing brothers.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
