Baltimore Key Bridge collapse updates: Two bodies found during recovery mission for missing workers

Rescue operations were called off on Tuesday night when Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said there was no hope of finding the men, who were working on the bridge at the time of the collision, alive due to the frigid water and the length of time since the accident.

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Maryland State Police Secretary Colonel Roland L Butler Jr said that the mission has now transitioned into a salvage effort, citing dangerous concerns around the area where the remaining vehicles and bodies are located. Mr Butler said that the search stopped around 4pm.

The remaining area was encased by the structure. No additional vehicles are in the water, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday evening, Maryland State Police Secretary Colonel Roland L Butler Jr announced that a red pickup truck had been recovered from the scene containing the bodies of two of the men that died in the tragedy on Tuesday morning.

They’ve been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35 of Baltimore and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26 of Dundalk. Mr Fuentes was from Mexico and Mr Cabrera is from Guatemala.

The vehicle was submerged in 20 feet of water and pulled out of the water on Wednesday morning, officials said.

CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres confirmed that one of the missing men was identified as Miguel Luna, a husband and father of three.

The organisation provides critical services to immigrant and working-class families.

“In the aftermath of the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, our hearts ache for the families of the victims and all those impacted by this horrific accident,” Mr Torres said, adding that Mr Luna had been a longtime member of the organisation. He’d been living in Maryland for 19 years after leaving his native El Salvador.

On Wednesday afternoon, Brandon M Scott, Mayor of Baltimore and Wes Moore, Maryland governor, toured the area where the bridge was struck on Tuesday morning alongside Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski.

The group boarded the USCG James Rankin to survey the damage and understand how the incident happened, a representative for the governor’s office said.

“This is part of the governor’s efforts to continue the strong working relationship with the Coast Guard along with our federal partners, thank first responders working on the scene and to learn more about the events that took place”, the spokesperson said.

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said that a “main area of concern” was the livlihoods of port workers, telling reporters at a White House press conference on Wednesday that thousands of jobs could be affected by the incident.

Mr Buttigieg also addressed the impact of the crash on the local economy, saying that some 8,000 jobs were directly associated with port activities.

“Last I checked… about $2 million in wages are at stake every day and that’s one of the areas was concerned about,” he said.

“It’s one thing for a container or vehicle or a shipment to be absorbed or accommodated somewhere else, but these longshore workers – if goods aren’t moving, they’re not working.

He added: “Right now there is work taking place even inside of that bridge because of the work that has to be done to offload some of the vehicles that are stuck there and get that back on the surface transportation to go out to other sites, so they’re likely working right now, but that work won’t last long and that’s one of our main areas of concern.”

The Honduran deputy foreign affairs minister also confirmed to the Associated Press that Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval was among the missing men.

Mr Sandoval is from Honduras, and had been living in the United States for over 18 years. He is married and has two children.

His brother Martin, who lives in Honduras, told CNN that family members in Baltimore called him to tell him that his brother was missing.

Mr Sandoval was an entrepreneur who had started his own maintenance company, going to the US “in search of a better life”, his brother said.

Although Martin said that his family was holding on to hope that his brother could be found alive, they now just hope that his body could be recovered so they can give him a proper goodbye.

In an interview with Honduran newspaper La Prensa, Mr 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.

The Maryland Transportation Authority said that it is too early in the investigation to understand the full picture of what caused the collapse.

“It’s what we call a continuous structure every little piece is connected to another – and unfortunately it’s a catastrophic collapse,” they said.

Reports suggest that the Dali had “lost propulsion” as it left the port embarking on its journey, with crew notifying officials that they had lost control of the vessel, ABC reported, citing an unclassified intelligence report.

“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an collision with the bridge was possible,” ABC said, quoting the report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”

However, some have also questioned whether the structural integrity of the bridge itself was strong enough.

Julian Carter, a structural and civil engineering expert, earlier told Sky News that the structures of the bridge were “very weak” at certain points.

Fire officials said earlier that they do not have any information as to whether there was a problem with the 300-metre-long ship, and have not spoken to the pilot of the vessel yet.

Chief Wallace added that he could not confirm if there had been a fuel leakage from the cargo ship.

“We hope as the sun comes up, we will get a much better picture if we do have a fuel spill and what the impact has been so far,” he said.

Gov Moore said on Wednesday that it’s still unclear what caused the ship’s power to go out. “There needs to be accountability to make sure these things do not happen again and that we have a system in place to make sure they don’t,” he said at a press conference.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CBS News on Wednesday that the agency has the voyage data recorder, which can provide “a timeline” of the lead-up to the crash as early as later today. The instrument can also give insights into positioning of the vessel and power loss, she said.

The recorder will give officials a glimpse into what the crew was experiencing during the tragedy. Ms Homendy said she hopes to reporter the contents of the recorder on Wednesday.