Fourth body recovered from Baltimore Bridge collapse site
Apr 16, 2024
Maryland [US], April 16 : The authorities announced on Monday that they had recovered the body of a fourth person killed in last month's Baltimore Bridge collapse from the scene, The Hill reported.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge Response Unified Command disclosed that rescue teams recovered the body of one of the victims from the collapse site on Sunday, as per an official statement.
At the family's request, the statement refrained from disclosing the victim's identity, as per The Hill.
"As we mourn the lives lost and continue the recovery operation, we recognise that each missing individual is someone's beloved friend or family member," Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland Department of State Police, said in a statement.
"Along with all of our allied law enforcement partners, we pledge to exhaust the physical and technical aspects of their training while deploying every available resource possible."
According to The Hill, salvage teams at the location alerted Maryland State Police upon finding what is suspected to be one of the construction vehicles that went missing from the bridge.
The statement said Maryland State Police, the FBI and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police later "located a deceased victim trapped inside the vehicle."
Officials from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command informed the victim's family members on Monday.
Two weeks earlier, the bodies of two victims in the Key Bridge collapse were recovered from a truck in the wreckage of the collapsed structure, the Maryland state police confirmed on March 28.
On March 27, the federal authorities said at a White House press briefing that they are balancing efforts to recover the remains of those missing, assess and remove the bridge debris and relocate the ship--all before efforts to rebuild can even begin, The Washington Post reported.
A shipping vessel named the Dali lost power on its way out of Baltimore Harbour late last month on its way to Sri Lanka and slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse.
Six of the eight construction workers on the bridge that night were killed in the collapse. The Coast Guard has since begun an effort to recover the bodies of the victims.
The Washington Post and the Associated Press reported that the FBI has now opened an investigation into the incident, citing sources familiar with the matter. The FBI confirmed to The Hill that there were agents present on the cargo ship on Monday.
