Baltimore bridge ship’s black box recovered as families of construction worker victims speak out
Questions around the Baltimore bridge’s collapse could soon be answered as the vessel’s black box has been recovered. Meanwhile, two missing members of the construction crew who were working on the bridge and went missing after its collapse have been identified.
The Dali container vessel rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1.30am on 26 March after it lost power, causing the bridge to dramatically collapse.
Mystery surrounds the cause of the incident, which threw members of a construction crew, who were refilling potholes on the bridge at the time, into the Patapsco River, authorities said.
But now details of the cause of the crash could become available.
The National Transportation Safety Board retrieved the Dali’s voyage data recorder, also known as its black box, the agency’s Jennifer Homendy said on Wednesday. It can provide a timeline of the run-up to the collision, give positioning information, and insights into what caused the power loss, she said.
Ms Homendy said they could have that information as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Officials have labelled the crash an accident, saying no signs point toward terrorism.
While two survivors were pulled from the river hours after the dramatic collapse, six others were reported still missing.
Rescuers suspended their nearly full-day search for the missing individuals on Tuesday evening; the six missing men were presumed dead.
The six construction workers were all employed by contractor Brawner Builders, authorities said. Brawner Builders employee Jesus Campos told The Baltimore Banner that the missing individuals are all men in their thirties and forties, and all have spouses and children. “They are all hardworking, humble men,” he added.
Two of the missing men have since been identified: Miguel Luna, 49, and Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38.
Their relatives have started speaking out.
Mr Luna, a father of three, is from El Salvador and had been living in Maryland for just under 20 years, according to a statement from the non-profit organisation Casa.
His wife, Maria del Carmen Castellon told Telemundo 44 that she and other family members of the missing men were able to gain access to the restricted disaster zone while they anxiously awaited news of their loved ones.
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