The Men Presumed Dead in the Baltimore Bridge Collapse: What We Know

Four men remain missing. They were working as contractors doing overnight maintenance on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed on Tuesday. Emergency personnel working near the collapsed bridge.Credit…Mike Segar/Reuters Details have begun to emerge about some of the people who were missing after being plunged into the water when the Francis Scott Key […]

The Men Presumed Dead in the Baltimore Bridge Collapse: What We Know

The Men Presumed Dead in the Baltimore Bridge Collapse: What We Know thumbnail

Four men remain missing. They were working as contractors doing overnight maintenance on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed on Tuesday.

Emergency personnel on boats near part of the collapsed bridge.
Emergency personnel working near the collapsed bridge.Credit…Mike Segar/Reuters

Details have begun to emerge about some of the people who were missing after being plunged into the water when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, divers worked through dangerous conditions searching for the bodies of the six missing men. Two were recovered from a submerged vehicle, and the other four are presumed dead, officials said.

But the search was ended later in the day, after officials concluded that the other bodies were encased in the wreckage. Two people were pulled from the river alive shortly after the collapse.

Here’s what we know so far about the men, who were working as contractors doing overnight maintenance on the bridge:

  • The two whose bodies were recovered on Wednesday were Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md., authorities said.

  • Miguel Luna, in his 40s, from El Salvador, is married and has three children, said Gustavo Torres, the executive director of the nonprofit CASA, which provides services to immigrants in Baltimore. He said Mr. Luna had been living in Maryland for at least 19 years.

  • Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, in his 30s, of Honduras, immigrated to the United States more than 17 years ago, according to Mr. Torres, and is married with two children. In a statement provided to The Times via CASA, Mr. Suazo’s brother, Carlos, described him as having a special talent for repairing and operating all kinds of machinery, and said that he dreamed of starting his own small business. “He was always so full of joy, and brought so much humor to our family,” Carlos Suazo said, noting that the family was planning to celebrate his brother’s next birthday on April 27.

  • All but one of the eight men worked for Brawner Builders, a contractor based in Baltimore County, the company said. The men who went missing after the collapse were all immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to consular authorities and the nonprofit.

Kirsten Noyes contributed research.

A correction was made on 

March 27, 2024

An earlier version of this blog post misidentified the nonprofit that provides services to immigrants in Maryland. It is CASA, not We Are Casa.

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Jacey Fortin covers a wide range of subjects for the National desk of The Times, including extreme weather, court cases and state politics all across the country. More about Jacey Fortin