Bridge collapse: Temporary channel opens for boats working on response

Two bodies were recovered from a red pickup truck found in the water near the middle span of the bridge, Maryland State Police said during a press briefing.

The two men were located by divers shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Roland Butler Jr., superintendent for Maryland State Police. The truck was submerged in approximately 25 feet of water, he said.

The victims were identified by police as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, a native of Mexico who lived in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, a native of Guatemala who lived in Dundalk. They were both construction workers, authorities said.

One was identified by a driver's license in his pocket and the other by fingerprint, authorities said.

Four other construction workers are presumed dead following the collapse, authorities said, as the search transitioned to a recovery effort on Wednesday.

A survivor who was hospitalized following the collapse was released earlier Wednesday, police said.

Officials said during a press briefing Wednesday that reopening the Port of Baltimore is a "top priority."

Gov. Wes Moore said Maryland has submitted a request to the Biden administration today asking for emergency relief funds "to assist in our work going forward" as the Port of Baltimore remains closed following the bridge collapse.

Moore told reporters during a press briefing that he does not yet know what the total costs or the full timeline will be.

"Despite this task ahead of us being daunting, I can tell you right now our resolve is unshaken. We will get to completion," he said.

Some 8,000 workers on the docks are impacted by the bridge collapse, the governor said.

"We need to make sure that we're getting them back on the job -- and the same goes for many others that have been affected by this crisis, both directly and indirectly," Moore said.

Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen also reiterated during the briefing that getting the shipping lanes open is an urgent priority.

At 1 a.m., the 984-foot-long, Singapore-flagged cargo ship pulled out of its berth at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, southeast of downtown Baltimore, and started to head up the Patapsco River toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to the vessel's tracking data.

At 1:23 a.m., a livestream camera captured the massive ship coming into view as it approached the Key Bridge, apparently on course to pass under the 1.6-mile-long span near the middle of the bridge's cantilevered section. The footage showed light traffic on the bridge, including a tractor-trailer rig.

Click here to read the full timeline.

The ship's crew is still on board and is cooperating with officials, Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the Coast Guard, said at Wednesday’s White House press briefing.

The ship "had a fairly good safety record," he noted.

Gautier also stressed that "there is no threat to the public from the hazardous materials on board."

"The real critical thing here is that, as you know, a portion of the bridge remains on the bow of that ship. And we will be coordinating very closely with the Army Corps of Engineers and their contractors to, first, affect the removal of that debris before the vessel can then be removed," Gautier said. "The vessel bow is sitting on the bottom because of the weight of that bridge debris on there, and there are underwater surveys happening by a remotely operated vehicle. Divers will be in the water today to complete that underwater survey."

The investigation into what caused the collision is ongoing.

"Anybody who is responsible will need to be accountable," Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said.