Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses, Likely Killing Six Immigrant Workers Who Got No Emergency Warnings

Six people are missing and presumed dead after a
984-foot cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key
Bridge in Baltimore, causing the bridge's collapse
early Tuesday morning. All six have been identified
as immigrant construction workers originally
hailing from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and
Honduras. Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the
crew on the ship was able to issue an emergency
mayday call before colliding with the bridge, which
allowed authorities to stop incoming traffic and
prevent more casualties. However, reports say the
workers already on the bridge were not given
similar warnings. "The question we should be
asking about is why the folks on that bridge ..had
no direct line to emergency dispatch when they
are clearly working in a potentially hazardous
environment," says journalist Maximillian Alvarez,
the editor-in-chief of the Baltimore-based
organization The Real News Network, who has
been closely following the story and how it has
affected immigrant and working-class
communities. "What does this story actually show
us? That immigrants are filling our potholes at
night so that we can have a smooth drive to work
in the morning," Alvarez says. "I hope people can
see this and see the humanity in us.