“They are Latinos”: what is known about the 6 workers presumed dead after the Baltimore bridge collapse

The six workers missing after the naval accident that collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge in the city of Baltimoreon the east coast of U.SThey were Latino immigrants.

The statement was made by Jesús Campos, another company employee. Brawner Builders who was carrying out repairs on the bridge’s asphalt when a ship collided with one of its pillars, causing it to collapse in the early hours of Tuesday.

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The United States Coast Guard reported that, given the time elapsed and the temperature of the water in which they fell, they are considered dead. The ongoing rescue mission now becomes a recovery mission.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said several company employees were on the bridge when the Dali freighter struck it. He described what happened as a “terrible tragedy”.

Later, the Guatemalan consulate in Maryland announced that two of the missing were Guatemalans.

Campos said he was not working at the time of the accident because his shift had changed and told local media that his co-workers were from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, like him.

The six missing people were working to repair the asphalt of the bridge that collapsed. (GET IMAGES).

Father Ako Walker of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in a Baltimore neighborhood said he spent the day following the families of missing workers, waiting for news as rescue teams searched for them in the waters of the Patapsco River, where FBI divers used cameras. robotics in search of any trace.

Walker delivered a brief sermon in Spanish.

“Six of them are Latino,” he said, adding that the impact would be felt especially throughout the Spanish-speaking community.

“It’s been difficult for families,” he added. “There were a lot of tears.”

Father Ako Walker accompanied the families of the missing throughout Tuesday.

An area with a large Latino population

Rescue teams located a car in which some of those missing when the bridge collapsed were believed to have been found. Hopes of finding them faded throughout the day.

Authorities no longer believe it is possible to find survivors. A Coast Guard spokesperson said the team will attempt to recover the bodies of the victims to provide closure for the families.

At Mount Olive Church, near the crash site, a vigil was held for the missing and their families.

There, Susana Vargas, a migrant rights activist, told the BBC that “many Latinos who work in construction and restaurants live in this area.”

“Whenever there is a tragedy, [las víctimas] They are the migrants. “We are the ones who do this type of work.”

Baltimore and its port are a vital point for the American economy and the transit of goods.

The Baltimore area has a large immigrant population from Latin America, often employed in the most difficult jobslike the one carried out by the six missing workers.

The accident that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge occurred during the early hours of the morning and left, in addition to the six missing, at least one seriously injured.

It was not possible to confirm whether other vehicles fell into the water during the infrastructure collapse.

The governor of the state of Maryland, Wes Moore, declared a state of emergency and the President of the United States, Joe Biden, assured that the federal government will cover all costs of rebuilding the bridge and restoring the functioning of the port of Baltimore.

Several voices warned of the economic impact that the closure of a key port for the United States will have.

Source: Elcomercio