Body of Last Missing Bridge Collapse Victim Found

'With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our recovery efforts'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 7, 2024 5:25 PM CDT
Body of Last Missing Bridge Collapse Victim Found
A vessel, left, moves past the stranded container ship Dali through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered, officials announced Tuesday as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in the ongoing cleanup effort. Six construction workers were killed in the collapse. The body of Jose Mynor Lopez, 37, was recovered Tuesday, officials said in a statement. All the victims were Latino immigrants who were working an overnight shift filling potholes on the bridge. Police officers were able to stop traffic moments before the collapse, but they didn't have enough time to alert the workers.

Lopez moved to the United States from Guatemala. During a vigil last month honoring the victims whose families were still awaiting closure, mourners used a crane to hoist a Guatemalan flag in his memory. Officials said salvage divers located his body and alerted state authorities, the AP reports. "With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our recovery efforts and providing closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in this tragic event," Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland Butler Jr. said in a statement. The body of a fifth victim was found in a truck last week.

Officials said the crew of the Dali will remain on board the grounded container ship while crews conduct a controlled demolition to break down the largest remaining span of the fallen bridge. The steel span landed on the ship's bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's support columns on March 26. Since then, the ship has been stuck amid the wreckage, and Baltimore's busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. The controlled demolition, which is expected to take place in the coming days, will allow the Dali to be refloated and guided back into the Port of Baltimore, officials said. (More Baltimore bridge collapse stories.)

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