The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent “routine engine maintenance” in port beforehand, the US Coast Guard said.
It comes as divers recovered the bodies of two of six workers who plunged into the water when it collapsed.
The others were presumed dead, and officials said search efforts had been exhausted.
Investigators today began collecting evidence from the vessel that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge the previous day. The bodies of the two men were located in the morning inside a red pickup submerged in about 7.6 meters of water near the bridge’s middle span, Colonel Roland L Butler Jr, superintendent of Maryland State Police, announced at an evening news conference.
Theories are emerging over what led to the colossal container ship to hit the bridge. (Source: 1News)
He identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico and living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and living in Dundalk, Maryland.
The victims, who were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, at the news conference, addressed their families in Spanish, saying, “Estamos contigo, ahora y siempre”, which means, “We are with you, now and always.”
All search efforts have been exhausted, and based on sonar scans, authorities “firmly” believe the other vehicles with victims inside are encased in superstructures and concrete from the collapsed bridge, Butler said. Divers are to return to search for remains once the waters are clear of debris.
Workers were on a break and resting in their vehicles
Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge and knows members of the crew who died, said on that he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks parked on the bridge to warm up when it collapsed.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said at the news conference that authorities had been informed that the ship was going to undergo maintenance.
“As far as the engine goes, we were not informed of any problems with the vessel," he said. “We were informed that they were going to conduct routine engine maintenance on it while it was in port. And that’s the only thing we were informed about the vessel in that regard.”
The investigation ramped up as the Baltimore region reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that's part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port that is vital to the city's shipping industry.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship and planned to recover information from its electronics and paperwork, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
The agency also is reviewing the voyage data recorder recovered by the Coast Guard and building a timeline of what led to the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call early Tuesday, saying they had lost power and the vessel's steering system just minutes before striking one of the bridge’s columns.
At least eight people initially went into the water, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, officials said.
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