Baltimore bridge collapse dive team recovers body of third construction worker

Dive teams have recovered the body of a third construction worker at the site of Baltimore’s fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed on 26 March when a cargo ship collided with it.

The worker was identified as 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, according to a Friday statement from the disaster site’s Unified Command group.

Carlos Alexis Suazo Sandoval, Maynor’s brother, told The Washington Post he was relieved the body had been found.

“That was the #1 goal,” he wrote in Spanish via WhatsApp. “Thank God.”

The worker’s nephew, Hector Guardado, told the paper in Spanish that the news was “hard, but at the same time comforting.”

“The collapse of the Key Bridge is undoubtedly one of the most challenging tragedies we have faced as a law enforcement agency. Along with our local, state and federal public safety partners, we will not give up,” Colonel Roland L Butler, Jr, Superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police, added in the statement. “There are families still waiting to hear if we have found their loved one. I can promise you, we are fully committed to finding closure for each of these families,” he said.

Two bodies were recovered from a vehicle found underwater at the end of March.

Authorities have previously said six construction workers fell to their deaths when the bridge went down.

The news of the discovery came the same day Joe Biden visited the site of the bridge disaster, where he vowed that he and his administration “will not rest” until a replacement span is built.

“We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge,” the president said.

Mr Biden also paid tribute to the “hard-working, strong, and selfless” workers who lost their lives while working on the bridge.

The president has called on Congress to fund the cost of a new bridge, arguing it will speed construction, while some Republicans argue the money should come from the owner of the Dali, the container ship which struck the bridge’s support after it lost propulsion early in the morning of 26 March.

The Biden administration has steered $60m in emergency funds so far into the initial federal salvage and recovery effort.

Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting to this story.