DUNDALK, Md. — Construction workers in Baltimore who would have been on the Francis Scott Key Bridge had it not been for a last-minute shift change are mourning their co-workers who were killed in the structure’s collapse.
Moises Diaz, 45, of Brauner Builders, said he was saddened by the men he considered “family,” but also counted himself blessed to have avoided disaster. he told the Post in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
“If I hadn’t asked for the switch, I would have been in the water by now,” Diaz said through an interpreter.
“It’s tragic. I’m really thankful I wasn’t on the bridge. Thank God.”
At least eight people working on the bridge fell into the Patapsco River after a giant shipping container lost power and crashed into the bridge structure.
Two people, a state inspector and an engineering company contractor, were rescued shortly after, but one sustained serious injuries and the other refused medical treatment.
The bodies of two Brauner Builders construction workers were pulled from a red pickup truck submerged 25 feet under water near the bridge’s midspan around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The two victims have been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Mexican origin and resident of Baltimore, and Dorrian Lonial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Guatemala and resident of Dundalk.
Four other members of the Brauner Builders’ crew remain missing but are presumed dead.
Diaz identified them as Miguel Luna of El Salvador, Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval of Honduras, Jose of Guatemala and Carlos of Mexico.
“They were good people,” Diaz said of the workers.
The group was on a break when the tragedy occurred and were drinking coffee and eating in their car when the bridge collapsed.
Everything you need to know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore
- The Singapore-flagged container ship Dali, which crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and destroyed it early Tuesday morning, lost propulsion and tried to alert authorities that it was about to crash, according to reports. It is being
- According to authorities, six people are missing. Two people were pulled from the river by rescue workers.
- Seven vehicles were lost after falling off a 2.6-mile-long bridge. Authorities are using sonar technology to locate the vehicle.
- Video shows the ship’s power flashing just before the crash, then turning back on. Watch footage of the bridge collapse here.
- A Baltimore resident said the horrific collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday left him feeling like his entire house was falling down.
- Dali was also involved in a collision in 2016 while leaving the Belgian port of Antwerp.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
“When I found out about it, I got a notification. I remembered, ‘Oh, my colleague is working on that bridge.’ what happened to them? ” Diaz said.
Diaz said he and his crew have been working to fill holes in the bridge’s asphalt.
The men of Brauner Construction developed close relationships while working long hours on various tunnels and bridges in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
“We’re all basically a family. We work eight- to 10-hour shifts and we’re all in close proximity to each other,” Diaz said.
He spoke with Sandoval’s brother-in-law hours after the tragedy and suggested the family had already come to terms with their loved one’s death, even though his body had not yet been found.
“They’re worried,” he said. “They at least want to know that the body is in the water. The whole family is hoping that at least the body will be found.”
“They were good people. They were good workers and hard-working. They were good families, husbands and fathers.”
Rescuers called off search and rescue operations shortly after finding the pair, and authorities said the situation was too dangerous to continue.
Once the bridge debris is removed from the water, divers will be sent back in to locate the remaining cars and bodies.
The cause of the tragic overnight collision is still unknown, but the Coast Guard said the container ship was undergoing “routine engine maintenance” in port shortly before losing power.
