Divers recover 2 bodies from Baltimore bridge collapse site

Burned bodies of Easter pilgrims still lie inside a bus that crashed off a bridge in South Africa

MMAMATLAKALA, South Africa (AP) — Emergency workers in South Africa were searching Friday for the bodies of victims after a bus carrying pilgrims to an Easter gathering plunged off a bridge and caught fire. An 8-year-old child was the only survivor of the crash that killed at least 45.

Hours after the Thursday afternoon crash, smoke seeped from the mangled, burned wreck underneath the concrete bridge. Authorities said it appeared that the driver lost control and the bus ploughed into the barriers along the side of the bridge and then over the edge. The driver was among the dead.

The crash happened in a mountainous region near the town of Mokopane, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the South African capital, Pretoria.

The Limpopo provincial government said the bus, which was carrying pilgrims from Botswana, veered off the Mmamatlakala bridge and plunged 50 meters (164 feet) into a ravine.

It said many bodies were burned beyond recognition and trapped inside the vehicle, while other victims had been thrown from the bus.

“We were at the scene,” said local resident Simone Mayema, who said he was one of the first to arrive. “We tried to help (but) there was nothing we could do because there was flames.”

Forensic investigators worked through the wreckage early Friday, but while some bodies had been recovered, others were believed to be still inside what was left of the bus, which was almost crushed flat.

There was no new information on the status of the child who somehow survived the horrific crash. Officials at the hospital where the child was taken declined to give an update. Government officials were expected to hold a press conference later Friday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the victims appeared to be all from Botswana and had been on their way to the town of Moria in Limpopo for a popular Easter weekend pilgrimage that attracts hundreds of thousands of worshippers from South Africa and neighboring countries who follow the Zion Christian Church.

Ramaphosa had phoned Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi to offer his condolences and said the South African government would do all it can to help, according to a statement from Ramaphosa’s office.

Provincial authorities said the bus had a Botswana license plate.

South African Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga was in Limpopo province for a road safety campaign and changed her plans in order to visit the crash scene on Thursday after hearing the “devastating news,” the national Department of Transport said. Chikunga said there was an investigation underway into the cause of the crash and offered her condolences to the families of the victims.

The South African government often warns motorists to be cautious during the Easter holidays, which is a particularly busy and dangerous time for road travel as millions of South Africans travel from cities back to their rural family homes or make religious trips.

Foreigners also make long road journeys back to their neighboring home countries as Easter Friday and Easter Monday are both national holidays, giving people four days off.

More than 200 people died in road crashes during the Easter weekend last year. Just a day before this crash, the South African government called on people to be extra careful on Thursday and Friday because of the expected high volumes traveling by road, including around Moria.

The Zion Christian Church has its headquarters in Moria and this year is the first time its Easter pilgrimage has been set to go ahead since the COVID-19 pandemic. The pilgrimage is renowned as the church’s faithful pour into the small town from across the southern African region.

The worshippers gather near where a giant star — the church’s emblem — and the words “Zion City Moria” are painted in white on a hillside.

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

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Search efforts paused after 2 bodies found in Baltimore bridge collapse, focus turns to clearing debris

Search efforts paused after two bodies found in Baltimore bridge collapse, focus turns to clearing d

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BALTIMORE — The search for bodies was paused Wednesday as attention turned to clearing debris from the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and reopening the Port of Baltimore.

The bodies of two construction workers were recovered from a submerged truck Wednesday. Four people remain missing and are presumed dead, but divers can no longer operate around the mangled bridge debris that has encased submerged vehicles, officials said.

The span was struck by a cargo ship that had lost power shortly after it left the Port of Baltimore early Tuesday morning.

The U.S. Navy said it is mobilizing barges outfitted with heavy lift cranes to help clear the Patapsco River of debris. Three cranes with varying lift capacities and support vessels are expected to begin removing submerged portions of the bridge, but it’s unclear when they will arrive.

Reopening channel ‘essential’ for port

All vessel traffic in and out of the port was suspended in the wake of the collapse, but it has remained open for trucks.

The Army Corps of Engineers will assist the salvage effort so that the Patapsco River’s shipping lanes, the entry to the port, can reopen.

The port is the ninth busiest in the United States, according to Census data, and handled more than $80 billion in import-exports last year, the most in 20 years. It is also home to Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines.

Directly, the port supports 15,300 jobs, while another 140,000 in the area are related to port activities. The jobs provide a combined $3.3 billion in personal income, according to a CBS News report.

“The most urgent priority is to open the Port of Baltimore because it is essential to the livelihood of people here in Baltimore, in Maryland, and the economies across our country and around the world,” U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a press conference Wednesday.

Maryland lawmakers are drafting emergency legislation for income replacement to assist thousands of Port of Baltimore workers impacted by the disruption.

Four remain missing, presumed dead

Eight people, part of a construction crew filling potholes, were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two were rescued, two bodies have been recovered, and four remain missing.

Two bodies recovered near Key Bridge collapse site

08:27

So far, three of the victims have been identified:

Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 35, originally from Honduras and who has been living in the U.S. for 20 years
Miguel Luna, originally from El Salvador
Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, originally from Guatemala

The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed two of the missing men were from Guatemala, according to a Tuesday evening news release.

Honduras’ Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio García told The Associated Press a Honduran citizen was missing, and the Mexican Embassy in Washington said there were Mexicans among the six as well.

The men are in their 30s and 40s and have spouses and children in Dundalk and Highlandtown, the Baltimore Banner reports.

Employer vows to help families

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Hunt Valley-based general contractor Brawner Builders, told CBS MoneyWatch the workers had company-sponsored life insurance, but declined to disclose details regarding the policies.

Brawner intends to offer financial assistance to the missing workers’ families as they cope with the sudden loss of income, Pritzker said, without providing additional details on the company’s plans.

“The company is doing everything possible to support the families and to counsel the families and to be with the families,” Brawner Builders executive vice president Jeffrey Pritzker said.

Separately, a GoFundMe campaign is aiming to raise $60,000 to help their survivors. Organized by the Latino Racial Justice Circle, an advocacy group that fights racial injustice, it raised more than $98,000 as of Thursday morning. Brawner Builders is linking to the GoFundMe on its website, directing people who wish to support the families to the fundraising effort.

Disaster in minutes

The National Transportation Safety Board said the Dali, the striking ship, left the terminal at the Port of Baltimore around 12:39 a.m. Tuesday.

By 1:24 a.m., alarms started going off that something was wrong. At 1:27 a.m., the pilot ordered crews to drop the anchor and called for tugs, telling officials the vessel lost power and was headed toward the bridge.

And just two minutes later, the massive cargo ship crashed into the bridge at 8 mph.

The NTSB said police had just 90 seconds from when they received distress calls to cut the bridge off to traffic and to try to get people off.

A police officer patrolling because of the work on the bridge tried to get the construction workers off before it was too late, according to officials.

The ship was carrying 56 containers of corrosive, flammable material and batteries, some of which were breached, according to NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy. She said one of the hazardous materials, sheen, which is used in paint, had leaked into the Patapsco River. The environmental impact is still unclear.

State, federal leaders give update on recovery of Key Bridge collapse victims

32:49

Replacing a critical bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River and is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore’s Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, which connects Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The bridge was completed in 1977 after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. The 1.6-mile span was used by some 31,000 people per day and carried 11.5 million vehicles annually.

Maryland submitted a request to the federal government for emergency relief funds to rebuild the Key Bridge and reopen the port, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Weidefeld said Wednesday.

“We intend to receive some federal dollars quickly and then we will start with the design for the replacement of the bridge to the port and get the community back up and running,” he said.

President Biden said Wednesday that he intends to push the federal government to pay entirely for the replacement bridge, and pledged to work with Maryland leaders to provide as much support as possible.

Senator Van Hollen said it was too early to put a price tag on the new bridge, but he called on Congress to work together to provide resources quickly.

“This is an American challenge,” Van Hollen said. “We are a great American city here in Baltimore. We are hoping all of our colleagues come together and join us in making sure we rebuild the bridge.”

Rohan Mattu

Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ’s website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

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Divers recover 2 bodies from Baltimore bridge collapse site

Divers recover 2 bodies from Baltimore bridge collapse site – CBS News

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Maryland police said they recovered two bodies from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site on Wednesday. CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave and Nicole Sganga have the latest.

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Kenya starts to hand over to relatives the bodies of 429 members of a doomsday cult

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s government on Tuesday began handing over to relatives the bodies of 429 members of a doomsday cult at the center of a legal case that has shocked the country.

Exhumed bodies from a vast rural area in coastal Kenya have shown signs of starvation and strangulation. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie is accused of asking his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus and now faces charges that include murder.

Authorities are using DNA testing to help identify bodies and their families. On Tuesday, the first bodies were handed over to relatives. Emotions ran high at the Malindi mortuary as families collected loved ones for reburial. Some wailed, overwhelmed.

Francis Wanje, a father who lost his daughter and seven other family members, pointed at a hearse carrying four bodies.

“We lost eight members of our family,” Wanje said. “We were supposed to get five, but were told that one of the children did not match the DNA.

“So now we have been given only four (bodies). So we are still hoping that perhaps in the future, we are going to get the other four.”

Mackenzie and dozens of his associates were charged in February with the torture and murder of 191 children. The trial begins on April 23. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has declared Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries a criminal organized group.

Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing films without a valid license.

Some outraged Kenyans have asked how authorities didn’t notice any sign of the mass deaths much earlier.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission last week said police failed to act on reports that could have prevented the deaths in the remote Shakahola area. Several reports had been filed at police stations by people whose relatives had entered the forested area.

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Six more bodies are found days after a boat of Rohingya refugees capsized off Indonesia

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Six more bodies of Rohingya refugees have been found at sea off Indonesia after a boat with more than 150 people aboard capsized last week, local authorities said Monday.

The bodies of the six women were found off the coast of Aceh province, search and rescue officials said in a statement. Five bodies were found over the weekend.

The United Nations refugee agency confirmed with survivors that the women had been on their boat, staff member Faisal Rahman said.

The agency has said the boat carrying Rohingya Muslims left a refugee camp in Bangladesh but capsized on Wednesday. Fishermen and search and rescue workers rescued 75 people on Thursday after they huddled overnight on the boat’s overturned hull.

U.N. agencies on Friday said at least 70 were feared missing or dead.

About 1 million of the predominately Muslim Rohingya live in Bangladesh as refugees from Myanmar. They include about 740,000 who fled a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in 2017 by Myanmar’s security forces, who were accused of committing mass rapes and killings.

The Rohingya minority in Myanmar faces widespread discrimination. Most are denied citizenship.

Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention and is not obligated to accept them. However, the country generally provides temporary shelter to refugees in distress.

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Tarigan reported from Jakarta.

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2 Bodies found stuck on floating barriers on Rio Grande

2 Bodies found stuck on floating barriers on Rio Grande – CBS News

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Mexican authorities have recovered two bodies of possible drowning victims from the floating river barrier along the Rio Grande. Texas Governor Greg Abbott claimed the two drowned before they ever reached the controversial barrier. Omar Villafranca reports.

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