Authorities have recovered the body of a fifth victim of the Baltimore bridge collapse five weeks ago, officials said Wednesday.
The victim was identified as Miguel Ángel Luna González of Glen Burnie, Maryland, according to Unified Command, a joint force made up of police, Coast Guard and other government agencies to respond to the disaster.
A freighter crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, crippling the structure and killing six workers repairing holes in it. The bridge was used daily by around 30,000 people.
The six construction workers were immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. After discovery on Wednesday, one of the victims' bodies was still missing.
A CNN previously reported that Luna, 49, was a husband and father of three from El Salvador who had lived in Maryland for more than 19 years, according to the nonprofit CASA, which provides critical services to working-class and immigrant families.
“Unified Command rescue teams located one of the missing construction vehicles and promptly notified the Maryland State Police Department,” said Col. Roland L. Butler, Jr., superintendent of the Maryland State Police, in the release.
“Maryland State Police investigators, along with officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the FBI, responded to the scene and recovered the body of a fifth construction worker inside a red truck,” it added.
Butler said his team is dedicated to the recovery operation “knowing that behind every person lost in this tragedy is a loving family.”
Investigations have been ongoing since mid-April to find out what caused the deadly incident.
The FBI and US Coast Guard are leading a criminal investigation into the crash, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN.
The ship's owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and manager, Synergy Marine PTE LTD, filed a petition in federal court asking for a $43.6 million cap on potential liability payments.
But both the city of Baltimore and lawyers for several victims are also seeking accountability.
The city of Baltimore previously said it would launch “legal action to hold wrongdoers accountable” and announced programs to help families of victims as well as businesses and workers affected by the catastrophe.
Lawyers representing the families of two deceased workers and a victim who survived the fall have begun their own investigation.
Source: CNN Brasil
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