Bodies of 2 construction workers pulled from submerged truck after Baltimore Key bridge collapse as search and recovery effort suspended
A car containing the bodies of two construction workers was pulled from the Patapsco River Wednesday morning, shortly before Baltimore officials suspended search and recovery efforts for victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse disaster.
Divers located a red pick-up truck submerged 25 feet below the surface around 10 a.m. near the middle span of the bridge, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent for Maryland State Police, said at a press conference.
The two victims were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, who was from Mexico and lived in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk.
One of the men was identified by a driver’s license in his pocket and the other by fingerprints.
The two victims were among the six missing construction crew employees who were filling potholes on the bridge when a cargo ship collided with the structure, causing it to collapse.
They were on break at the time of the tragedy and were sitting in their trucks to warm up when the bridge collapsed.
Rescuers suspended search and rescue efforts shortly after finding the pair, with officials saying the conditions were too dangerous to continue.
The remainder of the missing cars are likely trapped beneath the rubble and concrete in the river.
“Divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate around that. We have exhausted all search efforts in the areas around this wreckage,” Butler said.
“Based on sonar scans, we firmly believe that the vehicles are encased in the superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw come down.”
Officials are shifting their focus from “recovery mode to a salvage operation,” he continued.
Once the debris from the bridge is removed from the water, divers will be deployed once again to locate the remaining cars and bodies.
The four construction workers who are still missing are presumed dead, Butler reiterated. They all hail from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
The cause of the disastrous middle-of-the-night collision is still unclear, but the Coast Guard revealed the container ship had been undergoing “routine engine maintenance” in the port shortly before it lost power.
The massive ship’s loss of power made it impossible for there to be proper steering or adjustments, leading to the collision and subsequent bridge collapse.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said at the briefing that authorities were not informed of any problems with the vessel or its engine.
As the investigation and salvage efforts continue, officials are also working to open a shipping lane as soon as possible, followed by the construction of a replacement bridge.