Patapsco is an Indian name that some translate as backwater. The backwater formed by the Patapsco River at its mouth in Baltimore Bay (in the State of Maryland, USA) was shaken on Tuesday at about 1.30 am (five hours more in mainland Spain) by the collision of a large freighter against a pillar of the largest bridge in the city, the Francis Scott Key. The infrastructure collapsed immediately when a group of workers were working on it repairing potholes, who fell into the icy waters of the river in the collapse, according to the authorities. Emergency crews have rescued two people and are searching for six others who are missing. Although the bridge was open to traffic and authorities initially believed that some cars had fallen, subsequent analysis seems to indicate otherwise. According to local media reports, the missing persons are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and live in Dundalk and Highlandtown. They are between 25 and 40 years old, with spouses and children. The Coast Guard has suspended rescue efforts for this afternoon and is presuming them dead.
"Based on the time we´ve been searching, the search efforts we´ve made and the temperature of the water, at this time we don´t believe we´re going to find these individuals alive. So this evening at 7:30 we are suspending active search and rescue efforts," the Coast Guard official said. "None of our folks are leaving. We´re just going to move on to a different phase," he added.
News and image obtained: "El País"
