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‘Hard-working, humble men with spouses and children’: What we know about Baltimore bridge collapse victims

2024-03-27 00:00:00.0 独立报-世界新闻原网页

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Two of the six construction workers presumed dead after a massive container ship collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge have now been identified.

Miguel Luna and Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval were named by family members as being among the workers on the bridge who went missing after the structure collapsed into the river below.

The missing men are “hard-working, humble men,” according to a fellow employee of Brawner Builders, which had hired construction workers to refill potholes when the tragic incident occurred.

Unfortunately, Brawner Builders suspect that the workers could not have survived the bridge collapse.

“We’re presuming that they are not alive, because they were thrown into the bay in an area that’s 50 feet deep, with 46-degree temperature, probably buried under tons of steel,” Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, told The Baltimore Banner.

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“The company is in mourning and it’s a terrible, unanticipated tragedy.”

Workers and vehicles were on the bridge when a cargo ship Dali slammed into the bridge around 1.30am ET on Tuesday morning, causing its total collapse.

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Now time has passed with little success in finding the workers, the US Coast Guard said the search will now shift to a recovery mission.

Here’s what we know about the victims of the Baltimore bridge collapse so far:

Miguel Luna

Miguel Luna is the first of six victims who went missing when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on Tuesday to be named.

Miguel Luna is one of the missing workers and has been presumed dead

(Supplied)

Luna is one of the men who is now presumed dead, his wife María del Carmen Castellón told NBC sister station Telemundo 44 in Spanish.

When the bridge fell, it caused a colossal collapse and most were not allowed access to the disaster area; however, Ms Castellón said family members like her were able to get into the restricted zone while they desperately waited to hear news of their loved ones.

“They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now, they can’t give us information,” she said earlier in the day.

“[We feel] devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know if they’ve rescued them yet. We’re just waiting to hear any news.”

One relative of Luna’s also told Sky News they were “distraught” as they waited to hear news, and that some family members were taken to a location in Baltimore by police, where they could be with families of the other missing people.

His loved ones reportedly said he is from El Salvador and has children.

Luna was also identified by the non-profit organisation Casa, which provides services around Baltimore and other areas to immigrant communities.

“Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, left at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening for work and since, has not come home. He is a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years,” Casa wrote in a statement.

One of Luna’s children, Marvin Luna, told The Washington Post that he knew his father was working on the Key Bridge overnight but did not know it collapsed until one of his friends called him up and said, “The bridge is … gone.”

Marvin then called his father’s phone, but there was no reply.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval

Another of the workers missing and presumed dead since the bridge collapse in Baltimore has been named as Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, according to Martin Suazo, his brother.

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval

(Supplied)

Martin, who lives in Honduras, told CNN that his family over in Baltimore called him to tell him that his brother was missing after the container ship crashed into the bridge.

He is originally from Azacualpa in Honduras, and had been living in the United States for over 18 years. He is married, and has an 18-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.

His brother told the outlet that Sandoval was an entrepreneur who had started his own maintenance company, venturing to the US “in search of a better life,” Martin told the outlet.

Martin said his family were holding onto hope that his brother could be found alive, but now hope at least his body will be recovered so they can give him a proper goodbye.

The Honduras Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio García also confirmed to The Associated Press that Sandoval was missing and that they had been in contact with Suazo’s family.

In an interview with Honduran newspaper La Prensa, Sandoval’s brother Martin Suazo said in Spanish, “What we’re living is inexplicable. We wish it wasn’t real. We’re dismayed, especially the agony of not knowing when they’re going to find the body.”

The Honduran Embassy told Mr Suazo that it would work with him to bring his brother’s body back to the country for funeral arrangements.

‘Hard-working, humble men’

Members of a construction crew, employed by contractor Brawner Builders, were refilling potholes when the incident occurred, officials said.

Brawner Builders employee Jesus Campos toldThe Baltimore Banner that the missing individuals are all men in their 30s and 40s and all have children and spouses.

“They are all hard-working, humble men,” Mr Campos told the outlet.

Col Roland Butler Jr of Maryland State Police said at a Wednesday evening press conference that agencies made a “tragic finding” just before 10am that morning: a red pickup truck submerged in 20 feet of water with two victims trapped in the vehicle.

They were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26.

Mr Butler didn’t specify where the two were from, but said that those presumed deceased are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

A search and rescue mission for all six missing construction workers was called off on Tuesday night by the Coast Guard after it said there was no hope of finding them alive

(via REUTERS)

Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously said that among the unaccounted-for workers were two Guatemalans in a statement. One person is believed to be a 26-year-old from San Luis, Peten and another a 35-year-old from Camotan, Chiquimula; the ministry did not release their names.

The victims of the bridge collapse also include Mexican nationals, according to Rafael Laveaga, Chief of the Consular Section of Mexico’s Embassy in Washington, CNN said.

However, Mr Laveaga did not specify how many of the missing people were from Mexico. The Mexican Embassy also posted on X saying that Mexican citizens were among the workers.

Miguel Luna is a father of three

(Supplied)

Mr Campos told NBC that he had been working on the bridge only a month before this week’s tragic incident.

“It could’ve been me,” Mr Campos said. “Around a month ago I was working on the bridge… we had been moved to the day shift and they went at night.”

However, he believes that nothing could have been done to save the workers in time and evacuate them.

“It happened in the blink of an eye… It couldn’t be done,” he added.

Construction boss doesn’t think men could have survived

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, told the outlet that he does not believe the workers could have survived the shocking incident.

“We’re presuming that they are not alive, because they were thrown into the bay in an area that’s 50 feet deep, with 46-degree temperature, probably buried under tons of steel,” Mr Pritzker said.

“The company is in mourning and it’s a terrible, unanticipated tragedy.”

He also told NBC that the six missing people are presumed dead. The company previously confirmed to the outlet that one of its team members was working on the bridge at the time, but they did not specify it was one of Mr Campos’ coworkers.

Coast Guard suspends search

The Coast Guard told reporters at a Tuesday evening press conference that the search was paused at 7.30pm ET, and would resume on Wednesday morning as a recovery effort with divers being used to search for bodies.

“I’d like to announce tonight that based on the length of time that we’ve gone in this search, the extensive search efforts we’ve put into it, the water temperature, that at this point we do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” said Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath.

Mr Butler said on Wednesday evening that agencies were transitioning from a “recovery mode” to “salvage recovery operation.”

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