Officials in Maryland have retrieved the body of a third missing construction worker from the river near the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
On Friday, dive teams found the body in a submerged vehicle, and police later confirmed his identity as Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandova, according to the bridge catastrophe Unified Command Team.
Since March 26, when a container ship struck the bridge and nearly caused it to collapse into the Patapsco River, the construction worker has been missing. The 984-foot ship Dali, located in Singapore, collided with the bridge around 1:30 a.m. EDT due to mechanical failure.
Suazo-Sandoval was among six construction workers murdered when the bridge fell. At the time, they were closing the span for repairs.
The 38-year-old immigrant from Honduras arrived in the United States more than 17 years ago, was a father of four, and hoped to create his own business, immigrant advocate Gustavo Torres told reporters last week.
Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland Butler Jr. told WBAL-TV on Friday that Suazo-Sandoval “was the only individual that we found in that vehicle.” We returned a short time later to perform a search of the surrounding region.
“The diver was able to enter the vehicle and could not find anyone else who was within the vehicle, and no one else was located in the area of the vehicle,” the official said.
Shortly after the bridge collapsed, authorities discovered the bodies of fellow construction workers Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26. The discovery found both males trapped inside a submerged pickup truck.
Three construction workers who were on the bridge at the time are believed to be missing and dead.
“There are families still waiting to hear if we have found their loved one,” Butler said on Friday. “I can promise you, we are fully committed to finding closure for each of these families.”
The announcement came on the same day that President Joe Biden visited the site, reassuring residents that the partially clogged port would reopen shortly. Biden earlier announced $3.5 million in emergency dislocated worker grant funds for Maryland.
Specialty salvage crews have already started removing the 1.6-mile steal arch continuous truss bridge.
