Baltimore bridge collapse: Family’s grief as two bridge victims named

A woman whose husband is among the six missing bridge workers has said her “heart is broken”, as a recovery team continues to search for the men and the process of clearing the rubble begins.

• Inside the crash that brought down a Baltimore bridge

Two of the six construction missing after a container ship collided with the Baltimore bridge they were working on, have been named by family members.

Miguel Luna, 49, was was working the night shift with his crew when the Dali ship lost propulsion and caused the collapse of the iconic Francis Scott Key bridge. Luna, a father of six, is now presumed dead.

“They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now, they can’t give us information. [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,” his wife, Maria del Carmen Castellon told US Spanish-language network, Telemundo 44.

Miguel Luna is one of the six missing, presumed dead, bridge workers. Picture: Supplied

A second man, Maynor Suazo, 37, originally from Honduras was identified in his homeland as another worker who is missing and presumed to be dead. Suazo, a father of two, had been living in the US for the past 18 years.

Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two of the missing were citizens of the Central American nation. It did not provide their names but said consular officials were in contact with authorities and assisting the families.

Mexican officials have said that some of their citizens are missing but did not say how many.

Maynor Suazo, 37, a native of Honduras has been named as one of the missing from the Baltimore bridge collision. Picture: Supplied

Maynor Suazo’s brother, Martin Suazo, told Honduran television that his brother was a native of Santa Barbara, in the western part of the country, Martin said that his brother emigrated to the US in order to “improve the quality of his life”.

Mr Suazo said he was making plans to travel to the US to repatriate his brother’s remains.

In a separate interview with CNN, Mr Suazo said his brother is survived by an 18-year-oldson and a five-year-old daughter. He again spoke about his brother’s hope for a better life in the US and said that he had also started his own maintenance company.

“Maynor Suazo was a guy with warmth, quality of people, entrepreneur with a vision and mission to serve our community,” a family friend wrote in a touching Facebook post.

Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

“They are all hard-working, humble men,” Jesus Campos, a colleague of the eight workers all employed by contractor Brawner Builders, said.

“My heart hurts with this situation,” said Campos. “They’re human beings and they are my colleagues.”

Miguel Luna with wife, Maria del Carmen Castellon, said the family has been told to “wait” for information. “We are devastated,” she said. Picture: Supplied

GRIM SEARCH FOR BODIES CONTINUES

Emergency services continued to comb the cold waters of Baltimore harbour on Wednesday local time in search of the bodies of six men -- all reported to be Latin American immigrants -- presumed killed when a giant cargo ship slammed into the bridge where they working the night shift fixing potholes.

Police and Coast Guard crews swarmed the disaster site, with specialized divers scouring the river under the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge. Their task, however, was limited to recovering bodies.

Workers continue to investigate and search for victims after the cargo ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

“We do not believe any of these individuals are still alive,” the regional Coast Guard chief, Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath, said.

The container ship Dali, almost a kilometre long and piled high with cargo, was leaving the busy port at 1.30am Tuesday (4.30pm AEDT) en route to Asia when power failed and the vessel crashed straight into one of the columns supporting the steel bridge -- a major crossing point used by tens of thousands of motorists a day.

BThe entire structure collapsed instantly. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Nearly the entire structure collapsed instantly, cascading over the bow of the ship, which remained entangled in the debris on Wednesday, blocking one of the busiest US trading ports.

In dramatic scenes, police managed to stop vehicles from driving onto the bridge as soon as they received a Mayday call from the ship to warn of the impending collision.

But there was no chance to evacuate the eight men filling potholes on the road directly above the massive ship.

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lies on top of the container ship Dali in Baltimore. Emergency services are searchingfor six missing men. Picture: AFP

Officials said that two of them were pulled from the water, one of them seriously injured and the second unharmed. The other six disappeared into the swirling currents and crumpled tangle of wrecked girders and pylons.

“We do not know where they are,” Maryland state police officer Roland Butler told US media. “We intend to give it our best effort to help these families find closure.”

MADAY CALL MOMENTS BEFORE COLLISION

The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.

As the vessel neared the bridge, puffs of black smoke could be seen as the lights flickered on and off. It struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy, and a section of the span came to rest on the bow.

With the ship barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed”, authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Gov. Moore said. ‘They saved lives.’

Six construction workers are presumed dead after a container ship slammed into the US bridge they were repairing, although a mayday call moments before the collision averted an even bigger disaster.

The rescue effort in Baltimore’s Patapsco River resumed on Wednesdaymorning localtime,more than 24 hours after the Dali cargo ship lost power and ploughed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing it crashing down within 40 seconds.

And while US President Joe Biden promised to cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge, Baltimore and the broader region faced months of disruptions, with motorists losing one of three vital river crossings and cargo ships blocked from the city’s busy port.

The ship, moving at a “rapid” pace, alerted authorities that it had lost power. Picture: Getty Images

A crew of eight workers was taking a break from fixing potholes on the 2.57km bridge when the collision occurred. Two people were quickly rescued but specialist divers were unable to find their six colleagues in freezing conditions and amid mountains of debris.

“At this point, we do not believe we are going to find any of these individuals still alive,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said as the search was suspended.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler said there was a “distinct possibility” that other vehicles were on the bridge when it collapsed, although authorities did not have “any information to support that” after frantic searches using underwater drones and sonar.

A team of more than 1000 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), including specialists in engineering, construction, contracting and operations, will work with local, state and federal agencies to remove the collapsed bridge and clear the shipping channel.

The collapsed bridge sent multiple vehicles and up to 20 people plunging into the harbour below. Picture: AFP

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the catastrophe could have been worse had crew members aboard the Dali not made a mayday call to authorities when the ship lost power as it steamed towards the bridge.

Law enforcement officials stopped more motorists crossing the bridge before it collapsed.

“These people are heroes … They saved lives last night,” Mr Moore said.

The missing construction workers worked for Brawner Builders, with executive vice president Jeffrey Pritzker saying it was a “terrible, terrible, unforeseen tragedy”.

“We are all kind of shocked and distressed,” he told the Baltimore Sun.

Jesus Campos, who worked on the bridge last month and was friends with the crew, said they were “hardworking, humble men” who had migrated from South America. Two have been reported as being from Guatemala, with others from Mexico and El Salvador.

“They were working so they could send money home to their countries,” he told local TV station WBAL.

“It’s too much to bear right now, because all the families are at home waiting for the phone calls.”

Horrifying footage shows the bridge crumbling after the 300m Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel heading to Sri Lanka, crashed into the central part of the structure. Picture: AFP

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said two of the missing men were from Guatemala.

A 26-year-old originally from San Luis, Petén, and a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula, are among the missing, reports CNN.

The Ministry’s statement said both men were working on a team “repairing the asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident.”

Some of the missing workers are also thought to have been Mexican nationals, according to Rafael Laveaga, Chief of the Consular Section of Mexico’s Embassy in Washington.

CNN also reported another of the missing men was from El Salvador.

The cargo ship Dali sits in the water after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland. Picture: Getty Images

Several outlets named one of the victims as Miguel Luna, with his wife María del Carmen Castellón telling Telemundo 44: “(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.”

The Dali had two pilots and 22 crew members on-board, none of whom were injured. It had recently returned to the US from Panama and had just started on a journey to Sri Lanka.

Shipping giant Maersk, which chartered the vessel, said in a statement: “We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected.”

Satellite image shows Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge after the Singapore-flagged Dali cargo ship struck the structure causing it to collapse.Picture: Satellite Image

Mr Biden vowed to rebuild the bridge, which opened in 1977 and was named after the author of America’s national anthem. It was used by 30,000 commuters every day.

“This is going to take some time but the people of Baltimore can count on us to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt,” the President said.

Mr Moore said Baltimore’s port was the busiest hub for shipping cars in the US, and that it generated $US191m ($A292m) of economic activity every day supporting 8000 jobs.

Originally published as Baltimore bridge collapse: Family’s grief as two bridge victims named