A large number of construction workers on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed Tuesday morning were Central American immigrants, according to officials, who described them as “hard-working, humble men.”
At about 1:30 a.m. ET, the Singaporean freighter Dali, which was sailing from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, lost power and collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 1.6-mile-long structure crossing Maryland’s Patapsco River. Numerous videos and photographs posted on social media documented the spectacular and heartbreaking scene of the bridge collapsing into the river, resulting in a full structural failure.
An eight-man construction crew was working to mend potholes on the bridge when it collapsed. The men are thought to have fallen into the river below, and just two have been discovered so far.
“We are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point, and we will continue to be for some time,” Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace stated at a press conference around five hours after the collapse. “We have a large area that we have to search.”
The Maryland Transportation Authority issued a statement confirming what the crew was doing on the bridge. Jesus Campos of the contracting firm Brawner Builders had been working an overnight shift on the bridge before switching to a different one, and he too spoke up regarding the missing individuals. He explained that they were immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico who now live in Dundalk and Highlandtown. The missing men were all in their 30s and 40s, with wives and children at home, according to Campos, and they moved to Baltimore to create a better life for their families.
“They are all hard-working, humble men,” Campos stated.
In a statement regarding the tragic tragedy, President Joe Biden stated that he intended for the US government to bear the costs of rebuilding the bridge, a proposal he expects Congress to support.
“It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “I expect Congress to back my efforts… We’ll pay to have the bridge reconstructed and reopened.”
According to Professor Patrick Penfield, an expert in supply chain practice at Syracuse University, the collapse of Baltimore’s port is expected to result in a daily loss of approximately $9 million.
