‘Hard-working, humble men with spouses and children’: What we know about Baltimore bridge collapse victims
Six people who fell into the water after a massive container ship collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge are presumed dead and the search for them has been suspended, says the US Coast Guard.
Workers and vehicles were on the bridge when a cargo ship Dali slammed into the bridge around 1.30am ET on Tuesday morning, causing its total collapse.
Two people have so far been rescued from the river — one of whom was in the hospital being treated for injuries. Still, more people are missing.
Here’s what we know about the victims of the Baltimore bridge collapse:
Miguel Luna, 49, is the first of six victims to be named who went missing when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on Tuesday.
Luna is one of the men who is now presumed dead, his wife María del Carmen Castellón told NBC sister station Telemundo 44 in Spanish.
When the bridge fell, it caused a colossal collapse and most were not allowed access to the disaster area; however, Ms Castellón said family members like her were able to get into the restricted zone while they desperately waited to hear news of their loved ones.
“They only tell us that we have to wait, that for now, they can’t give us information,” she said earlier in the day to the outlet.
“[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.“
One relative of Luna’s also told Sky News they were “distraught” as they waited to hear news, and that some family members were taken to a location in Baltimore by police, where they could be with other families of the other missing people.
Luna was one of six men who were working on the bridge when it was struck by the Dali container ship, causing a devastating collapse in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
His loved ones reportedly said he is from El Salvador and has six children, although other organisations report he only has three.
Luna was also identified by the non-profit organisation Casa, which provide services around Baltimore and other area to immigrant communities.
“Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, left at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening for work and since, has not come home. He is a husband, a father of three, and has called Maryland his home for over 19 years,” Casa wrote in a statement.
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