Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed in a statement today that one Mexican national is among the dead and two more are missing following the collapse on Tuesday of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, reports La Opinión.
“Yes, there are two who are missing, one alive, two missing, we know where they are from, who they are, there is communication with their families, they are being supported, there is assistance from the diplomatic corps in Baltimore, in Washington, they are working with them and we also know of other missing brothers from Central American countries,” the president said.
Six people are presumed dead after a cargo ship struck the bridge around 1:30AM, causing it to collapse. Among the missing are a father of three from El Salvador and a father of two from Honduras. Two Guatemalans are also among the missing.
The accident has brought traffic in one of America’s busiest ports to a halt, raising fears over the likely disruption of supply chains across the country. Reconstruction is expected to last years with costs in the billions of dollars.
Speaking in front of the National Palace in Mexico City, López Obrador stated that one of the three Mexicans who fell into the sea was rescued.
“The report we have is that there are three Mexicans, one was rescued, he came out alive, injured but is now safe,” he said, adding, “We are not going to give more information because the relatives asked us that they want this matter to be handled with great caution.”
The Mexican president, whose term ends in June, also took the opportunity to criticize U.S. politicians who target the migrant community. The workers on the Francis Scott Key bridge were reportedly filling in potholes in the middle of the night when the ship collided with a pillar.
“This shows that migrants are going to do work at midnight, very risky work, and that is why they do not deserve to be treated as they are by some irresponsible and insensitive politicians in the United States,” said López Obrador.
In a statement, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said an emergency mayday call was sent from the ship before the collision, allowing authorities to halt traffic across the bridge. But in comments to Democracy Now, journalist Maximillian Alvarez, editor-in-chief of the Baltimore-based organization The Real News Network, says no similar warning was given to the workers.
“The question we should be asking about is why the folks on that bridge … had no direct line to emergency dispatch when they are clearly working in a potentially hazardous environment,” he said.
Reports suggest the 948-foot cargo ship, the Dali, lost propulsion after an on-board electrical outage that led to the loss of steerage and eventual collision. The ship is managed by Synergy Marine Group, a Singapore-based company.
The Major League’s Baltimore Orioles plan to honor the victims of the accident during the team’s season opener this Thursday.
Authorities have confirmed the nationalities of those missing and dead, although only the names of two of the deceased are known: Miguel Luna El Salvador and Maynor Suazo of Honduras. Both had lived in Baltimore for nearly two decades.
