CNN
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They worked the night shift repairing holes in the famous bridge that 30,000 Marylanders depend on every day. But their work ended in tragedy Tuesday morning when a 213 million pound cargo ship crashed into the bridge, sending construction workers plunging into the dangerously cold water below.
After a day-long search, authorities called off rescue efforts and announced that six workers were presumed dead. Maryland State Police said Wednesday that two bodies, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes of Mexico and Dorrian Lonial Castillo Cabrera of Guatemala, were recovered from a submerged pickup truck.
Surviving for several hours in frigid waters 50 feet deep was virtually impossible, and it was too dangerous for divers to navigate the dark waters surrounded by sharp debris.
Now, that sadness has transcended borders.
“We know that our nationals are involved,” said Rafael Labeaga, head of the consular section of the Mexican embassy in Washington. “They were the workers who were repairing some of the holes in the bridge. And it's they, the Latinos, who are going to build the bridge again.”
The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday shared details of the moments leading up to the crash and emphasized its focus on the victims' families.
“We just want to offer our deepest condolences. We are thinking of you and praying for you as we move forward in the coming days, months and years,” said agency president Jennifer Homendy. . “Our goal is to prevent something like this from happening again, and we are truly sorry for everything you are going through.”
Carlos Suazo Sandoval, the brother of one of the six people missing in the bridge collapse, told CNN that authorities have told the families of the victims that they are not giving up on recovery efforts.
But the brothers added that experts are preparing loved ones for what condition the body could be in, as days have passed and the body may have been damaged by debris. said.
The six construction workers were immigrants from four countries: Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. Below are some of their stories.
Martin Suazo
Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval has a wife and two children, his brother said.
Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38, immigrated to the United States from Santa Barbara, Honduras 18 years ago in search of a better life, his brother Martín Suazo told CNN.
Maynor Suazo was married and had two children, an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, his brother said.
In addition to working as a construction worker, Maynor Suazo was also an entrepreneur who started a maintenance company, his brother said.
Martin Suazo, a Honduras resident, said he is grateful for the support his family has received from the FBI, the Honduran embassy in Washington and the governor of Maryland.
Maynor Suazo, one of eight children, was described as a kind and fun person with a “vision,” according to his brother Carlos Suazo of Baltimore.
The Suazo family's priority is finding Maynor's body. They can then move on to other concerns, such as the financial burden Maynor's family may face and breaking the sad news to her 72-year-old mother in Honduras.
Carlos Suazo said his family plans to repatriate him to Honduras once his body is found.
“They found the car, but they haven't moved it yet because there's a lot of steel. They're human beings so we have to be careful,” the brother said.
“Even if there was no life, our family rescued the body and at least saw the body, my family, his entire family, the people who came from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the bodies that were there at the time of the incident. We need to be extradited. We are Hondurans,” he added.
Father of three who lived in Maryland for 19 years
Retrieved from CNN
Miguel Luna was a husband and father of three children.
Miguel Luna, a husband and father of three from El Salvador, had lived in Maryland for more than 19 years, according to the nonprofit CASA.
CASA, which provides critical services to working-class and immigrant families, confirmed in a statement that Luna was on the bridge when it collapsed on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, one of the construction workers involved turned out to be a long-time member of the CASA family, adding further sadness to an already dire situation,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said in a statement. Ta.
“Miguel Luna, a native of El Salvador, left for work at 6:30 on Monday evening and has not returned home,” the statement said.
“The entire Baltimore region and CASA family mourns this tragedy,” Torres said. “Our hearts break for the families of the victims and all those affected by this terrible accident.”
CNN is reaching out to Luna's family for more information.
Ratneshwar Roychowdhury, a regular customer of the food truck run by Luna's wife, said he last saw Luna filling up his tank on Saturday. Luna wasn't good at English, so he used a translation app to communicate.
“It's very sad. I've known him for about a year and a half…It's very disappointing for everyone,” Roychoudhury told CNN while standing outside a food truck in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
“I'm really sorry for his family. He has a family here and he's taking care of them all. It's very sad for his family to know he's missing. It’s sad.”
Born in Dorrian Castillo Cabrera
Dorrian Castillo Cabrera loved her job, her sister-in-law said.
Dorrian Castillo Cabrera came to the United States from Guatemala to pursue her dreams and help her mother, her cousin Marlon Castillo told CNN.
Cabrera's sister-in-law, Pima Castillo, said Cabrera has worked at Browner Builders for at least three years and loves his job. He was not married and had no children, she said.
“Unfortunately, he was in a place where no one expected what would happen,” Marlon Castillo said.
At Owl's Corner Cafe in Dundalk, Maryland, one of the employees is cheering for Jose Mainor López, whose husband has been missing since the bridge collapsed.
Owner Lily Ordonez said Lopez's wife, Isabel Franco, works at the cafe..
The company set up a GoFundMe page for Franco and his family, writing that Lopez's family now faces an “uncertain future” without their “key provider and pillar of strength.”
“(Lopez) worked tirelessly to get his family everything they needed,” according to the GoFundMe page. “His sudden absence has created an emotional and financial void that cannot be filled.”
CNN has asked local authorities to confirm that Lopez is among the missing.
Retrieved from CNN
Jose Mainor López has been missing since the bridge collapsed.
“Jose was a wonderful man, husband and father,” Ordonez told CNN on Wednesday. “He's a very hard worker, a great provider and a family man.”
Ordonez said he was very close to his family, and said Franco was in shock and was “barely sleeping or eating.”
“She's waiting by the phone for news,” Ordonez said.
Lopez's two youngest children don't understand what's going on, but Ordonez said her 17-year-old daughter serves as her mother's support system.
Organizers of the GoFundMe page plan to distribute additional funds raised to other families affected by the tragedy.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN's Tina Burnside, Jillian Sykes, Carol Alvarado, Alex Stambaugh and Abel Alvarado contributed to this report.
