A third body has been recovered after six construction workers were killed when a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, authorities said on Friday. The body of Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was found just hours before Joe Biden arrived to get a first-hand look at efforts to clear away the debris.
The Baltimore mayor, Brandon Scott, expressed his gratitude to the first responders while sending condolences to the workers’ families. “This evening the Unified Command announced that divers were able to bring Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, one of the remaining missing workers, home to his family,” read a statement from Scott. “While I take solace in knowing this brings us one step closer to closure, my heart continues to be with all the families still waiting anxiously for their loved ones.”
Eight workers – immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a huge cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night of 26 March. Two men were rescued and the bodies of two others were recovered in subsequent days. Authorities said the search for the other victims would continue.
The president met for more than an hour with the families of those killed.
“The damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking,” Biden said.
Onboard Marine One, Biden circled the warped metal remains and the mass of construction and salvage equipment trying to clear the wreckage of the collapse.
On the ground later, he received a briefing from local officials, the US Coast Guard and the army corps of engineers on the situation in the water and its impacts on the region. The president also greeted police officers who helped block traffic to the bridge in the moments before it was hit by a ship – which helped avert an even larger loss of life.
“I’m here to say your nation has your back and I mean it,” Biden said from the shoreline overlooking the collapsed bridge in Dundalk, just outside Baltimore. “Your nation has your back.”
Officials have established a temporary, alternative channel for vessels involved in clearing debris. The army corps of engineers hopes to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving cars and farm equipment by the end of this month, and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore’s port by 31 May, the White House says.
That’s important since longer delays in reopening shipping lanes could send shockwaves through the economy. As much as $200m in cargo normally moves through Baltimore’s port each day, and it is the leading hub for importing and exporting vehicles.
More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway. Officials told Biden they had all the resources they needed to meet the targets for opening the channel into the Baltimore port.
The president announced that some of the largest employers affected by the collapse, including Amazon, Home Depot and Domino Sugar, had committed to keeping their employees on payroll until the port was reopened. That followed days of outreach by state and federal officials to try to mitigate the economic impact.
“From the air, I saw the bridge that has been ripped apart,” Biden said, “but here on the ground I see a community that’s pulled together.”
It is still unclear, though, how the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge will be covered.
The Federal Highway Administration has provided $60m in “quick release” emergency relief funds to get started. Exactly how much the collapse will ultimately cost is unclear, though some experts estimate recovery will require at least $400m and 18 months.
Biden said within hours of the collapse that “the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort”.
