BALTIMORE — With the Dali cargo vessel sitting at a standstill and divers in the water, officials made a grim announcement Wednesday afternoon following Tuesday's collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
"Shortly before 10 a.m., divers located a red pick up truck submerged in approximately 25 feet of water in the area the middle span of the bridge," Colonel Roland Butler, the Maryland State Police Superintendent, said during a press conference Wednesday. "Divers recovered two victims of this tragedy trapped with the vehicle.”
Two of the six missing workers were located by recovery teams. The were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26.
Diplomats confirmed that the six missing workers were from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Two other workers survived.
Maryland officials say they’ve ended recovery efforts and moved to a salvage operation due to conditions.
"Because of the super structures surrounding the vehicles, what we believe to be vehicles, and the amount of concrete and debris, divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate around that," Butler said.
"We are going to move forward together because that's what we do," Maryland Governor Wes Moore said. "Because we are Maryland tough, and Baltimore strong."
Watch the full press conference here:
NTSB officials also provided an update into their investigation into why the crash happened during a separate press briefing.
"It’s just utter devastation," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
Homendy revealed the vessel had 23 people on board, 21 crew and two pilots. It also had 56 containers of hazardous material, and some were impacted in the crash.
"Some of the hazmat containers were breached," Homendy said. "We have sheen on the waterway, the federal state and local authorities are aware of that."
Those hazardous materials include corrosives, flammables and miscellaneous or Class 9 hazardous materials, which includes lithium ion batteries.
Marcel Muise is serving as the investigator in charge of this incident, and he provided a timeline of events that led up to the crash. This was the timeline, as he stated:
- 12:39 a.m.: The Dali departs from Seagirt Marine Terminal
- 1:07 a.m.: The Dali enters the Fort McHenry Channel
- 1:24 a.m.: Numerous audible alarms were recorded on the ship's bridge audio, and around the same, the VDR sensor data ceased recording.
- 1:26 a.m.: VDR resumed recording sensor data. And during this time, there were steering commands and rudder orders recorded on the audio. The Dali's pilot made a general VHF radio call for tugs in the vicinity to assist. A Pilot Association dispatcher phoned Maryland Transportation Authority.
- 1:27 a.m.: The Dali's pilot ordered to drop the port anchor. The pilot issued a radio call over the VHF radio reported that the ship had lost all power and was approaching the bridge. MTDA shut down all lanes on the bridge.
- 1:29 a.m.: The VDR audio recorded sounds consistent with the collision of the bridge. Around this time, MTDA dash cameras show the bridge lights go out.
"All information is preliminary and subject to final validation," Muise said.
It's still early in the investigation, though crew members are being interviewed and data is being collected and analyzed.
"Right now we are just focusing on the facts, and on what occurred in this accident to determine what happen to prevent it from recurring," Homendy said.
NTSB officials say they expect their preliminary report to be released in the next two to four weeks.
Homendy pointed out that the bridge, built in 1976, did not have the redundancy used in bridges built today.
"It's a fracture critical bridge," she said. "What that means is if a member fails, that would likely cause a portion of, or the entire bridge, to collapse."
The bridge was last examined in May 2023 and was deemed to be in "satisfactory condition," according to NTSB officials.