On March 26, at 1:28 a.m, the Baltimore Key Bridge was hit by the Dali cargo ship causing it to collapse. Moments before the crash occurred, the operators issued a mayday call saying that the ship had lost power. The ship was 985 feet long, going 9 mph. It hit the 1.6 mile long bridge at one of it’s key supports, causing the bridge to collapse within seconds.
On the bridge was a crew of eight construction workers with the construction company Brawner Builders. They were filling potholes on the bridge. Out of the eight crew workers, 2 were rescued, 2 bodies were found, and 4 are presumed to be dead. The workers were working in the middle of the bridge at the time of the collapse. The crew were on a break when the ship struck the bridge, and some of the guys were in their trucks. The two bodies that were recovered were found in a red pick up truck submerged 25-feet underwater. The men that were found were Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Ronial Costillo Cabrera. Alejandro was a 35 year old husband and father of four young kids. Dorlian was a 26 year old who was found with Alejandro. Two other men who have been identified as crew workers on the bridge were Miguel Luna and Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval. Miguel was a 49 year old husband, father of 6, and a grandfather. Maynor was 38 and a husband and father of a teenage son and 6 year old daughter.
The ship’s crew has not left the ship since the accident. It is normal for the crew to stay on ships after an accident so that the vessel doesn’t cause any more danger. The Dali crew are working on the ship keeping it operable for investigation, while they are also answering questions from officials investigating the catastrophe. The cleaning of the river to recover all debris is said to take weeks and cost around $60 million to rebuild.
