Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Body recovery of construction worker missing in key bridge collapse: Combined Command

Of the six workers killed in the disaster, three are missing.

The body of one of the four construction workers who went missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed was recovered Friday, officials said.

Rescued person Identified 38-year-old Maynor as Yasir Suazo-Sandoval by the Combined Command. Officials said his family has been informed.

Unified Command Salvage dive teams found what they believed to be the missing construction worker around 10:30 a.m. ET Friday and notified Maryland State Police, officials said. State police dispatched a rescue team with dive teams from law enforcement partners and rescued Suazo-Sandoval.

The father of two immigrated from Honduras 17 years ago, according to Gustavo Torres, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a group that works with immigrants. He dreamed of starting a small business and brought joy and humor to his family, Torres told reporters last week.

Suazo-Sandoval was one of six construction workers killed when a cargo ship collided with the Baltimore Bridge on March 26, causing a near-total collapse of the Port of Baltimore.

The bodies of two workers were found a day after the collapse. Divers found a red pickup truck submerged in about 25 feet of water near the midpoint of the bridge, Maryland State Police said.

The workers were identified by police as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Mexico, who lived in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Guatemala, who lived in Dundalk, Maryland.

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Three workers are missing and presumed dead. Among them was Miguel Luna, a father of five from Usulutan, California, in El Salvador, his family told ABC News.

A 35-year-old man from Chiquimula, Camotán, Guatemala and a worker from Mexico are missing, according to their respective country's foreign ministry.

“Families are still waiting to hear if we've found their loved one,” said Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler, Jr. said in a statement Friday. “I assure you, we are fully committed to finding closure for each of these families.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the recovery of the third victim “brings one step closer to closure,” though “my heart goes out to all the families as they continue to wait for their loved ones.”

“I am grateful to the first responders who focused on rescuing the remaining victims and continued their work to clear the channel with great care,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to do everything we can to support these families and provide them with everything they need through this unimaginable tragedy.”

The victim's rescue occurred on the same day that President Joe Biden visited the crash site.

Biden thanked first responders for their efforts and was later scheduled to meet with family members of the six workers killed in the bridge disaster.

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“They are the hard workers working in the middle of the night to repair potholes on a bridge that tens of thousands of commuters cross every day,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Thursday.

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