AZACUALPA, Honduras (AP) — The missing workers from the Baltimore bridge collapse all hailed from Mexico or Central America before they settled in the Maryland area.
Police managed to close bridge traffic seconds before a cargo ship slammed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s supports early Tuesday, causing the span to fall into the frigid Patapsco River.
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There wasn’t time for a maintenance crew filling potholes on the span to get to safety.
At least eight people fell into the water and two were rescued. The other six are missing and presumed dead, but the search continued Wednesday. The governments of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras confirmed that their citizens were among the missing.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore met with family members of the victims following Tuesday's bridge collapse.
"The thing that they reminded me of was these were individuals who left home that night to fix potholes," he said. "They had no idea that they would not make it home. That wasn't even a possibility. But the thing that the families also wanted to remind me is that these were brothers and these were sons and these were husbands who these families relied on. And I told them that we would be there for them as well."
Moore confirmed that dive crews would be used on Wednesday to try to find the victims.
"We said we would put every resource available for the search and rescue, air, land and sea, to be able to try to find survivors," Moore said. "And now that we've transitioned into a recovery phase, I make the same promise that we are putting every resource that we have available to bring them a sense of closure."
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Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into what caused the ship to crash into the bridge. NTSB Chair Jennifer L. Homendy told Scripps News early Wednesday the Coast Guard has boarded the ship and taken its data recorder.
"It is at our lab right now," she said. "It will provide us with information to go into a timeline of events that occurred leading up to the bridge strike and immediately after. We hope to have that information available today to share with the public."
Homendy said it has not been confirmed whether the ship lost power before crashing into the bridge.
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"I want to look at the data ourselves," she said. "If a power outage occurred, it would be very difficult to maneuver the vessel and ensure safety."
She said officials could begin releasing some of the data obtained by the data recorder later today, but a full investigation could take years to conclude.