Biden Visits Baltimore Same Day the Body of a Missing Worker is Recovered

 

Late on Friday, the Unified Command managing the recovery efforts in Baltimore confirmed that the body of one of the six missing construction workers killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed has now been recovered. Divers working at the bridge located the remains just hours before President Joe Biden visited the city and promised that the federal government would continue the efforts and rebuild the bridge.

“Earlier this afternoon, we took an aerial tour to survey the wreckage,” said President Biden during a briefing. “You know, from the air, I saw a bridge that’s been ripped apart, But here on the ground, I see a community that’s been pulled together.” To strong applause from the governor, leaders of the salvage effort, and the audience, Biden said, “I’m here to say: Your nation has your back, and I mean it. Your nation has your back.”

Biden talked about the construction crew of eight men who spent the night shift fixing potholes on the bridge, before meeting with the families privately. He recounted that they were on a break, with one calling home saying they had just poured cement and were waiting for it to dry when the ship struck the bridge.

Eight people plunged into the river and two were recovered immediately by the first responders. Six bodies remained missing with the teams saying it was difficult and dangerous to locate them within the tangled mess under the water. Two bodies were recovered two days after the bridge collapsed.

Divers have continued to work at the site including teams yesterday and today that were surveying the containership. The Unified Command reports the divers located what they believed to be one of the missing construction workers at approximately 10:30 a.m. this morning and the Maryland State Police Underwater Recovery Team was deployed. They recovered the remains of 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval and notified his family. 

The other three construction workers remain missing. Officials said that they continue to place a priority on the recovery of their remains as the efforts continue at the site.

 

Dive teams continue to work at the site and today found the remains of one of the four missing construction workers (USCG)

 

Biden told the audience that the priority is to reopen the port repeating the projection from the Army Corps that the full channel will be open by the end of May. Today, he reported that Dislocated Worker Grants have begun. He also said that the Small Business Administration issued a disaster declaration while calling on all the businesses using the port to remain committed to Baltimore.

During the remarks, he also called on the U.S. Congress to approve funding for a replacement bridge as soon as possible. The White House budget office later released a letter sent to Congress asking for the replacement estimating the cost at more than $2 billion.

“My administration is committed — absolutely committed to ensuring that the parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow,” Biden told the audience.

The administration told Congress that it would pursue all available courses of action to recover costs and get compensation for the damages or insurance proceeds from those responsible for the destruction.