Six members of a construction crew are presumed dead as authorities in Maryland continue their investigation
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dali crashed into it on early Tuesday morning.
Here’s where things stand:
Six members of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge who were missing following the incident are now presumed dead. The named victims include 49-year-old Miguel Luna from El Salvador, a husband and father of three who lived in Maryland for over 19 years, and 38-year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, originally from Azacualpa in Honduras, a married father of two who had lived in the US for 18 years and launched his own maintenance business.
The foreign affairs ministry of Guatemala confirmed that two of the workers were nationals, though it did not name them. The ministry said the two people were 26 and 35, originally from San Luis, Petén, and Camotán, Chiquimula, respectively.
Three Mexican nationals were working on the bridge when it collapsed, Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday. One was rescued while two others remain missing, he said. The two Mexican nationals who remain missing are originally from the states of Veracruz and Michoacán, Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry has said. A third who was rescued on Tuesday is also originally from Michoacán.
Two construction workers were rescued on Tuesday. One was hospitalized at the Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore before being later discharged.
A truck was recovered from the Patapsco River on Wednesday morning, and a memo from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that at least one vehicle remained hanging from the metal.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will examine whether “dirty fuel” played a role in the giant cargo vessel losing power and crashing into the span. The Dali had lost power and issued a distress call moments before the crash, just after it began heading out from Baltimore to its destination of Sri Lanka. One reason for the blackout is contaminated fuel that can create problems with the ship’s main power generators, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, said it was “imperative” to get the port of Baltimore up and running as quickly as possible. Moore warned at a Wednesday briefing that the economic consequences of the bridge collapse “cannot be overstated and not just for the state of Maryland … we’re talking about what this means for the entire country”.
The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, urged bipartisan support for federal funding to rebuild the bridge and reopen the port. At a news conference on Wednesday, Buttigieg said it was too soon to say how long it will take to reopen the Port of Baltimore or replace the destroyed bridge. Officials were focused on reopening the port, dealing with supply chain issues, rebuilding the bridge and addressing surface transportation, he said.
The Coast Guard vice-admiral, Peter Gautier, said there is no threat to the public from any materials on board the Dali ship. Gautier, at a White House briefing on Wednesday, said the vessel is holding over 1.5m gallons of fuel, and that more than 50 of the cargo containers on board contain hazardous material, but that the ship is stable and that authorities have determined there is no safety risk.
Lawmakers in Maryland drafted an emergency bill to cover the salaries of workers who have been affected by the shutdown of the port. Details about the bill have not been disclosed yet. Bill Ferguson, the state senate president, said more 15,000 people in the region rely on daily port operations “to put food on the table”.
Singaporean officials announced that they will lead their own investigation on the Key Bridge collapse. The Dali ship was a Singapore-flagged ship traveling to Sri Lanka.