One of six members of the construction team, thrown into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River when a container ship collided with the bridge they were working on, has been named.
Miguel Luna, 49, was on the night shift with the rest of his Hispanic crew when the Dalí ship lost propulsion, causing the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse. Luna, a father of six, is now presumed dead.
‘They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now they cannot give us information. (We feel) devastated, devastated because we are heartbroken, because we don’t know if they have already rescued them. We’re just waiting for news,” said his wife, María del Carmen Castellón. Telemundo 44.
The Guatemalan consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two of the missing were citizens of the Central American nation. He did not provide their names, but said consular officials were in contact with authorities and assisting the families.
Honduran officials also named a citizen of the Central American nation as one of the missing workers. Mexican officials have said some of their citizens are missing, but did not say how many.
The first of the six: Miguel Luna, 49, was the first missing construction worker identified after the collapse
‘They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now they cannot give us information. (We feel) devastated, devastated because we are heartbroken,’ Luna’s wife told a local media outlet.
Miguel Luna, 49, was working the night shift on the bridge when the Dalí ship lost propulsion, causing the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse.
People look towards the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed after the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali collided with it along the Patapsco River on March 26.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the accident brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.
As the ship approached the bridge, puffs of black smoke could be seen as the lights flickered on and off. It hit one of the bridge supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy, and a section of the span was resting on the bow.
As the ship moved toward the bridge at “a very, very fast speed,” authorities had just enough time to stop cars from crossing the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “Last night they saved lives.”
In the evening, Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland State Police, announced that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to one of search and recovery.
He also said the search was on pause and divers would return to the site at 6am on Wednesday, when difficult overnight conditions were expected to improve. No bodies have been recovered, Butler said.
The accident occurred in the middle of the night, well before the busy morning commute over the bridge that spans 1.6 miles and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.
The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary.
Luna and the rest of his construction team are now considered dead.
A senior executive at the company that employed the workers also said in the afternoon that the workers were presumed dead given the depth of the water and the time elapsed.
Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed.
“This was completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. ‘We don’t know what else to say. We take great pride in safety and have cones, signs, lights, barriers and flaggers.’
Jesus Campos, who worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows the crew members, said they told him they were on a break and that some were sitting in their trucks.
“I know I was there a month ago and I know what it feels like when the trailers go by,” Campos said. ‘Imagine knowing that you are falling. It is very difficult. One wouldn’t know what to do.
Father Ako Walker, a Catholic priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, said he spent time with the families of the missing workers as they waited for news of their loved ones.
“You can see the pain etched on their faces,” Walker said.
Rescuers pulled two people out of the water, one of whom was treated at a hospital and released hours later. Several vehicles also fell into the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.
“It was like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”