Maryland authorities announced on Wednesday that divers successfully retrieved two bodies while conducting a search for workers who fell into the water following a collision between a cargo ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday.
Divers located a submerged red pickup truck beneath 25 feet of water within the bridge’s central span, where they discovered the two victims trapped inside.
The deceased individuals, identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, from Baltimore, and Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, from Dundalk, were confirmed by Maryland State Police Superintendent, Col. Roland Butler.
Butler stated that the families of the deceased have been informed of the tragic incident by authorities.
“Based upon the conditions, we’re now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation because of the superstructure surrounding what we believe are the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris; divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate in the areas around this wreckage,” Butler said.
Butler also stated that four additional construction workers are still missing and presumed deceased.
The victims hailed from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
The Police Superintendent went on to announce that all search operations have been concluded.
Nevertheless, Butler emphasized that based on sonar scans, authorities are “strongly” convinced that the other vehicles containing victims are trapped within the superstructures and concrete resulting from the bridge collapse.
Recalling the incident, the ship collided with a support pillar early on Tuesday, leading to the collapse of the span.
Owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the vessel was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk for its journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka.
