Divers remove bodies of two workers from river after Baltimore bridge collapse, four still missing, presumed dead

Posted on by

The bodies of two more workers have been recovered after the Baltimore bridge collapse. Divers carrying out a rescue operation have recovered the remains of two workers from the mouth of the Patapsco River, a day after a large container ship lost power and collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Colonel Roland Butler of the Maryland State Police told Reuters that a red pickup truck containing the bodies of two people was found in about 25 feet (7.62 meters) of water near the midsection of the collapsed bridge. He said authorities had suspended efforts to locate and recover more bodies due to increasingly dangerous conditions in the river. Butler said sonar images showed additional submerged vehicles “covered” in debris from the collapsed bridge and making access to the ship extremely difficult.

The dead were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, a native of Mexico, and Dorlian Roniel Castillo Cabrera, 26, of nearby Dundalk, who was originally from Guatemala.

Also read: Aware of Congress Party’s frozen bank accounts: US after summoning Indian diplomat over Kejriwal’s arrest

Four workers who were part of the crew responsible for filling potholes in the bridge’s road surface are still missing and presumed dead. According to officials, the six workers involved in the incident were immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador. Eight people were on a work crew filling potholes on the bridge’s road surface when the accident occurred. Rescuers rescued two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized.

The Singapore-flagged container ship Dali had reported a power outage before the collision. Traffic on the bridge was stopped before it collapsed as the crew informed authorities about the shipwreck. Due to the collision, the bridge broke and fell into the river below. According to the Associated Press, as the ship approached the bridge, there was a plume of black smoke that could be seen as lights flashed on and off.