The body of the third construction worker killed in the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge was discovered Friday morning, authorities said.
Local authorities said the man, identified as 38-year-old Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, was found by divers around 10:30 a.m., hours before President Biden was to visit the disaster site and meet with victims' families. It was done. More than a week after the bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River, the bodies of three more victims have still not been recovered.
“While we are relieved to know we are now one step closer to closure, our hearts remain with all the families who are still anxiously waiting for their loved ones,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. Ta.
Mr. Suazo was an immigrant from Askualpa, Honduras, who left the country at age 20 to pursue economic opportunities in the United States, said his eldest brother, Martín Suazo.
“My brother was an entrepreneurial young man,” Suazo, who is vice president of public schools, said in a Spanish-language interview on Saturday. “He was the driving force in his family and motivated all of us to work hard,” he said.
Maynor Suazo had a wife whom he met in Baltimore and two children. About five years ago, he achieved the proverbial American dream. He started his own business and operated a small fleet of delivery trucks, his brother said. But the pandemic forced his business to close, and he took a job repairing roads and bridges.
“He loved the country that gave him the opportunity to work,” Martín Suazo said. “He loved the United States, with its open doors that allow people to help people in other countries.”
The victims were some of the construction workers who were working on a road in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26 when a huge cargo ship crashed into a bridge. Two workers survived the destruction, but six disappeared into the dark water. They were presumed dead by evening.
The next day, the bodies of two of them were found underwater in a red pickup truck. However, efforts to find other victims are severely hampered by huge underwater debris.
“The collapse of the Key Bridge is one of the most difficult tragedies we have faced as a law enforcement agency,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said in a statement announcing the recovery. There's no doubt about it.” “Together with our local, state and federal public safety partners, we will not give up.”
Divers exploring the ruins of the bridge can barely see two feet in front of them as they navigate through murky water and piles of broken steel and crumbling concrete. With the help of sonar rendering, they are working to survey and salvage the debris in order to eventually clear the waterway. This is a daunting project, of which rescuing victims is only one part.
Still, “recovery is not an afterthought,” Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee S. Pinchacin said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s built into that plan.”
The names of the six men who died have been released by authorities, relatives and advocacy groups. In addition to Suazo, the victims were Jose Lopez, a man in his 30s from Guatemala. Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes (35) from Mexico. Carlos Hernandez, 24 years old, from Mexico. Dorrian Lonial Castillo Cabrera, 26 years old, from Guatemala. and Miguel Luna, a man in his 40s from El Salvador. The bodies of Mr. Fuentes and Mr. Cabrera were recovered on March 27th.
The men worked late into the night so that thousands of other Marylanders could use the Key Bridge to commute to their jobs. “And they never came home,” said Lucia Islas, president of the Baltimore Committee for Community Leaders, a nonprofit organization that supports the Hispanic community.
“They come from communities that have long been ignored and underrepresented,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement Friday. “But their work has dignity and their contributions will never be forgotten.”
In the days since the collapse, friends and relatives of the victims have been overwhelmed with unanswered questions, said Donna Butkiss, a clinical social worker who has been assisting victims' families in Baltimore.
The family of the man whose body was never found is left wondering where their loved ones are. “It's a very painful space to wait,” Butkiss said.
Jaycee Fortin and Eduardo Medina Contributed to the report.