Baltimore bridge collapse: First of six workers missing-feared-dead is named as father-of-six Miguel Luna, 49, as his shattered wife says ‘my heart hurts’ and rescue operation switches to recovery mission

One of the six construction crew members thrown into the icy waters of the Patapsco River when a container ship collided with the bridge they were working on has been named.

Miguel Luna, 49, was at the cemetery with the rest of his Spanish crew when the Dali ship lost propulsion and caused the collapse of the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge. Luna, a father of six, is now presumed dead.

‘They just tell us that we have to wait, that they can’t give us any information for the time being. (We feel) devastated, devastated because our hearts are broken, because we don’t know if they have saved them yet. We are just waiting for news,” his wife Maria del Carmen Castellon said Telemundo 44.

Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two of the missing were citizens of the Central American nation. Their names were withheld, but consular officials were in contact with authorities and assisted the families.

Honduran officials have also named a citizen of the Central American nation as one of the missing workers. Mexican officials have said some of their citizens are missing, but did not say how many.

‘They just tell us that we have to wait, that they can’t give us any information for the time being. (We feel) devastated, devastated because our hearts are broken,” Luna’s wife told a local news channel

Miguel Luna, 49, was working in the graveyard on the bridge when the Dali ship lost propulsion and caused the collapse of the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge

People look out at the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its collapse after the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali collided with it along the Patapsco River on March 26.

The ship’s crew issued a distress call just before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, allowing authorities to restrict vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.

As the ship approached the bridge, clouds of black smoke could be seen as lights flickered on and off. It struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy and causing part of the span to rest on the bow.

As the ship hurtled toward the bridge at “very, very high speed,” authorities had just enough time to prevent cars from crossing the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

In the evening, Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, announced that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to a search and recovery mission.

He also said the search was paused and divers would return to the site at 6am on Wednesday, when challenging overnight conditions were expected to improve. No bodies have been recovered, Butler said.

The accident happened in the middle of the night, long before the busy morning traffic on the bridge, which is 2.5 kilometers long and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.

The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes in the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, state secretary of transportation.

Luna and the rest of his construction crew are now presumed dead

A senior manager at the company that employed the workers also said in the afternoon that the workers were presumed dead, given the depth of the water and the amount of time that had passed.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said crews were working in the middle of the bridge when it came down.

“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. ‘We don’t know what else to say. We take so much pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flags.”

Jesus Campos, who worked for Brawner Builders on the bridge and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were in their trucks.

“I know I was there a month ago, and I know what it feels like when the trailers go by,” Campos said. ‘Imagine knowing this is falling. It is so hard. You wouldn’t know what to do.’

Father Ako Walker, a Roman Catholic priest at the Sacred Heart of Jesus, said he spent time with the families of the missing workers as they waited for news of their loved ones.

“You can see the pain on their faces,” Walker said.

Rescuers pulled two people from the water, one of whom was treated at a hospital and released hours later. Several vehicles also entered the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.

“It was like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”