By George Solis and Marlene Lenthang -
NBC News
The wife of one of the two Latino construction workers who survived the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge says it is a miracle that he is alive because he does not know how to swim.
Julio Cervantes was one of eight crew members on the bridge when the Dali freighter's lights flickered and the vessel crashed into one of the structure's pillars, collapsing it into the Patapsco River early Tuesday morning.
He and another man were rescued that day, the bodies of two others were recovered on Wednesday. The other four have not been found and are presumed dead.
[The bodies of two of the six Latino workers killed when the Baltimore bridge collapsed are recovered in a submerged car]
“All the men
were on a break inside their vehicles
when the boat crashed. We don't know if they were alerted before the impact,” said Cervantes' wife this Thursday, who did not want to give her name to NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
Just seconds after the Dali hit the bridge, it appears to break apart and fall into the dark water below.
“My husband doesn't know how to swim, it's a miracle he survived,” said the wife.
Cervantes was taken to the hospital with a chest wound and was released the same day, according to his wife. The other worker rescued on Tuesday was in good condition and did not want to be treated, authorities reported earlier.
The remains of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, were recovered by divers Wednesday morning in the Port of Baltimore. They were found in a red pickup truck trapped under 25 feet of water, near what was once the center of the bridge.
[Baltimore bridge collapse highlights risks faced by Latino construction workers]
Hernandez Fuentes was from Mexico and lived in Baltimore; Castillo Cabrera was from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk, Maryland.
Cervantes' wife said her brother-in-law was one of the two men whose bodies were recovered Wednesday, but did not give his name. She said that her entire family is of Mexican origin and that her nephew is still missing.
“We have not been able to sleep waiting for news that they found one of our relatives
,” he lamented.
Audio from a radio broadcast, made public by the Broadcastify platform, captured the moment police officers rushed to stop traffic and close the bridge, a decision that saved countless lives, and called to alert the crew. working on the bridge.
An officer says, “I'm not sure where, there's a team over there that you might want to notify, whoever the supervisor is, see if we can temporarily get them off the bridge.”
Another officer responds by saying that when another patrol arrives “I'll go get the workers on the Key Bridge.”
But it was too late. Shortly after, another officer reported over the radio: “The entire bridge fell down. Change, change... everyone. “The entire structure collapsed.”
The collapse shocked the country, raised concerns about the supply chain and broke the hearts of those who considered the mile-and-a-half-long Francis Scott Key Bridge, which houses Interstate 695, a jewel of the city. President Joe Biden has promised to rebuild the bridge as soon as possible.
An investigation into what caused the crash and bridge collapse is underway by the National Transportation Safety Board and could take one to two years.