Divers pull out 2 bodies from submerged truck at Baltimore bridge collapse site

G GOWTHAM
According to the US Coast Guard, "routine engine maintenance" was performed on the cargo ship at the port prior to it losing power and colliding with a bridge in Baltimore. The remains of two out of the six workers who fell into the ocean were recovered by divers on Wednesday. Authorities declared that all search attempts had been made and that the others were probably dead. Detectives started gathering information from the cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
 

Col Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the maryland State Police, stated at an evening press conference that the two males, aged 35 and 26, had been found dead by divers early in the morning inside a red pickup submerged in around 25 feet (7.6 metres) of water close to the middle span of the bridge.
 
According to Butler, the victims were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
 
Authorities "firmly" think the additional cars carrying victims are imprisoned in superstructures and concrete from the fallen bridge based on sonar readings, Butler said, adding that all search efforts have been expended.
 

The workers were reportedly on break and sitting in their trucks parked on the bridge when it collapsed, according to a coworker of the missing persons who spoke to him yesterday.
 
Authorities had been notified that the ship would be undergoing repair, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath stated during a press briefing. He went on to say that they had not been made aware of any issues.
 
The bridge collapsed early on tuesday when the ship struck a support pillar. Earlier on Wednesday, the bodies of two of the six workmen who fell into the sea were found.
 

As the Baltimore area reeled from the unexpected loss of a vital transportation connection that is a component of the highway circle around the city, the investigation accelerated. A port that is essential to the city's shipping sector was also affected by the accident.
 
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated that once NTSB officials boarded the ship, they intended to get data from its documentation and equipment.
 
A chronology of the events leading up to the disaster, which federal and state authorities have stated seemed to be an accident, is being created by the agency while it also examines the voyage data recorder that the Coast Guard retrieved.
 

The crew of the ship declared a mayday early on tuesday, stating that they had just moments before colliding with a column of the bridge without power or steering for the ship.
 
Eight or more persons entered the water. Six people who were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge were missing and thought to be dead, but two of them were saved.
 
According to a Homeland Security report that a law enforcement officer provided to The Associated press, the debris made the search more difficult. The person talked to the ap under condition of anonymity and was not permitted to disclose specifics of the paper or the inquiry.
 

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