Two bodies were recovered from the remains of a Baltimore bridge collapsing earlier this week, Maryland officials confirmed Wednesday.
Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning due to a container ship hitting the structure, authorities began search and rescue efforts for six missing people that they had been aware of. By Tuesday evening, however, officials announced that due to various conditions, including water temperature and length of time, the missing people were presumed dead and they would be shifting their efforts to recovery operations.
Superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., announced during a press statement Wednesday that two of the six missing people were discovered earlier in the morning. (RELATED: ‘The Whole Bridge Just Fell Down!’: Shocking Dispatch Audio Released After Baltimore Bridge Collapse)
“The Maryland State Police, along with the underwater recovery teams, supported by state, local and federal partners made a tragic finding. Shortly before 10 AM, divers located a red pickup truck submerged in approximately 25 feet of water in the area of the middle span of the bridge. Divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trapped within the vehicle,” Butler Jr. stated.
Join us live for updates on our coordinated response to the Key Bridge collapse: https://t.co/8TJ8UEfZqY
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) March 27, 2024
The victims were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuente, 35, from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, from Guatemala with authorities confirming that their families had been notified of their discovery before the press conference.
Butler Jr. continued to state that “based upon the conditions” officials will be moving on from a recovery mode to a “salvage operation,” as divers are no longer able to safely “navigate or operate” around the location where they believe the remaining four bodies are located.
“We have exhausted all search efforts in the areas around this wreckage, and based on sonar scans, we firmly believe that the vehicles are encased in superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw it come down. At this point as this moves to a salvage recovery effort, the Maryland State Police will continue to support the unified command as the salvage assessment phase takes place,” Butler Jr. stated.
Authorities noted that the six workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge at the time of the incident, were all from various countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
It is unclear when the additional missing people will be found by authorities as Butler Jr. emphasized that there is “no definitive timeline” for the operation.