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CNN
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They worked the night shift repairing holes in the famous bridge that 30,000 Marylanders depend on every day. But their work ended in tragedy Tuesday morning when a 213 million pound cargo ship crashed into the bridge, sending construction workers plunging into the dangerously cold water below.
After a day-long search, authorities called off rescue efforts and announced that the workers were presumed dead. Surviving for several hours in frigid waters 50 feet deep was virtually impossible, and it was too dangerous for divers to navigate the dark waters surrounded by sharp debris.
“We know that our nationals are involved,” said Rafael Labeaga, head of the consular section of the Mexican embassy in Washington. “They were the workers who were repairing some of the holes in the bridge. And it’s they, the Latinos, who are going to build the bridge again.”
The families of the six victims are now mourning their loved ones whose bodies have never been found. Below are some of their stories.
Martin Suazo
Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval has a wife and two children, his brother said.
Mayor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was one of the construction workers missing after the bridge collapsed, his brother Martín Suazo told CNN.
Suazo said his family in Baltimore called Martin Suazo early Tuesday morning to tell him his brother was missing.
Mainor Suazo is originally from Santa Barbara, Honduras, but moved to the United States in search of a better life, his brother said. Mr. Maynor has lived in the United States for the past 18 years. Martin Suazo said he was married and had two children, an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.
In addition to working as a construction worker, Sandoval was also an entrepreneur who started a maintenance company, his brother said.
Suazo, who lives in Honduras, said he is grateful for the support his family has received from the FBI, the Honduran embassy in Washington and the governor of Maryland, who has pledged to do everything in his power to find and recover the remains.
Suazo said her family remains hopeful that her brother will be found alive. Maynor Suazo, one of eight children, was described as a kind and fun person with a “vision,” according to his brother Carlos Suazo Sandoval of Baltimore.
“We have faith up until this moment. God will give us a miracle. It will be beautiful,” Carlos told CNN Spanish’s Maria Santana on Wednesday. “We still have hope. We know time is our biggest enemy,” he said.
For the Suazo family, the priority is finding Maynor’s body, then dealing with the financial burden Maynor’s family may face and breaking the sad news to his 72-year-old mother in Honduras. You can move on to other worries.
Carlos Suazo said his family plans to repatriate him to Honduras once his body is found.
“They found the cars, but they haven’t moved any of them yet, because there’s a lot of steel. We have to be careful because they’re people,” said Carlos Suazo.
“Even if there was no life, our family needs to rescue the body and at least have it seen and handed over to my family, his whole family, people from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador. .We are Hondurans,” he added.
Father of three who lived in Maryland for 19 years
Retrieved from CNN
Miguel Luna was a husband and father of three children.
Miguel Luna was also on the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed on Tuesday, according to a statement from CASA, a nonprofit that provides critical services to working-class and immigrant families.
“Unfortunately, one of the construction workers involved turned out to be a long-time member of the CASA family, adding further sadness to an already tragic situation,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said in a statement. Stated.
“Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, left for work at 6:30 on Monday evening and has not returned home. He calls Rand home,” the statement said.
“The entire Baltimore region and CASA family mourns this tragedy,” Torres said. “Our hearts break for the families of the victims and all those affected by this terrible accident.”
CNN is reaching out to Luna’s family for more information.
CASA said it is working to provide humanitarian assistance as families face tragedy and seek answers for missing loved ones.
Ratneshwar Roychowdhury, a regular customer of the food truck run by Luna’s wife, said he last saw Luna filling up his tank on Saturday. Luna wasn’t good at English, so he used a translation app to communicate.
“It’s very sad. I’ve known him for about a year and a half…It’s very disappointing for everyone,” Roychoudhury told CNN while standing outside a food truck in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
“I feel really sorry for his family. He has a family here and he’s taking care of them all. It’s very sad for his family to know he’s missing. It’s sad.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Tina Burnside and Abel Alvarado contributed to this report.
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