(NewsNation) — One of the two people who survived the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge this week “literally saw” the structure collapse as it plunged into the Patapsco River, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday.
Officials announced that survivors include a Mexican national, who was part of a construction crew working on the bridge, and a Maryland state inspector who was overseeing work on the bridge when a cargo ship struck the bridge early Tuesday morning. Neither of the survivors have been publicly identified.
Maryland’s governor credited first responders, who “moved heroically” after only 90 seconds separated the first Mayday call from and when the cargo ship Dali struck the bridge, causing the structure to collapse, sending workers into the frigid waters below.
Moore told reporters at a news conference that he spoke to one of the two survivors who described the frantic minutes after the cargo ship alerted officials it was in trouble. Moore said that in some incidents, workers only had a split-second to respond as they felt the bridge crumbling under their feet as they ran to escape.
“One of the things he mentioned was that as he was moving off of the bridge, he literally saw the bridge fall right after he moved off,” Moore said Wednesday. “It was because it was a first responder who was telling him to move off the bridge.”
Six people are presumed dead as debris cleanup begins after the U.S. Coast Guard recovered two bodies from the river. Those recovered from the water have been identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico and living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and living in Dundalk, Maryland.
Officials said the tragedy could have been far more disastrous had it not been for the quick actions of the first responders. Emergency workers had less than two minutes to not only prevent traffic from entering the bridge, but also had to get out of their vehicles and audibly warn construction workers to get off the structure, officials said.
The victims, who were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, officials said.
Officials announced efforts have shifted from rescue and recovery to clearing the river’s shipping lanes, which involves removing debris from the bridge collapse.