The Baltimore bridge disaster was unfortunate in a shipping firm

When the sun was Baltimore 26 March, Maria del Carmen Castellón received news that she never expected: her husband, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, was missing in the cold and dark water of the Patapsco River in Maryland.

“I had a knock on the door from my husband’s son,” she recalls. “It’s news I don’t wish on any wife. At that moment, I wished I had wings so I could fly and save myself.”

Luna, a 49-year-old father of three originally from El Salvador, was one of eight workers repairing potholes on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. when it was struck by a 948 ft (289 m) cargo ship. – the M/V Dali – sending an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons of debris into the shipping channel below.

Six of the workers – all originally from Latin America – died in the bridge collapse.

It would be more than five weeks until Luna’s body was recovered in early May.

“It was the hardest day of my life,” Ms. Castellón said. “It opened a wound in my heart that will never heal.”

Now, six months after the disaster, the families of three of the workers who died in this shipping company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, arguing that their “negligence” and actions led directly to the collapse of the bridge and the death of loved ones. those.

“We fight for justice,” added Ms. Castellón, speaking in Spanish to reporters at the Baltimore offices of Casa, an advocacy organization focused on immigrants. “Justice means prevention of future tragedies.”

While a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the incident is ongoing, a preliminary report released in May found that the Dali had lost electrical power four times in a span of less than 12 hours before meeting with the Key Bridge.

“There’s a lot we don’t know yet,” said Matthew Wessler, an attorney working on behalf of the three families. “But in our view, that (repeated loss of power) should have led the ship to fully assess what had gone wrong and fix the problem.”

In federal court earlier this year, Grace Ocean sought to limit its legal exposure from the disaster.

Contacted by the BBC, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean said the submission of claims by the families “was anticipated” but the company “will have no further comment on the merits of any claims” at the moment.

The lawsuit is one of many faced by Synergy and Grace Ocean following the accident.

The city of Baltimore and a collection of local business owners also sued the companies, claiming the ship was unseaworthy when it left on its March voyage.

Speaking to reporters in Baltimore on Tuesday, Mrs. Castellón recalled that the day before the accident, the couple went to look at a rental property where they hoped to open a small restaurant.

The two had already worked together on a food truck, with Luna helping out when she wasn’t at her construction job.

“When we looked through the windows, we talked about a future in which we will not have to suffer in a dangerous job,” said Mrs. Castellón, crying. “These moments were full of laughter, and love,” he added.

“But those dreams were shattered that morning when I lost him,” Ms. Castellón added.

That night, as he left for work, he left her a letter that he signed with “I love you.”

“I carry this in my heart now,” he added.

Lawyers and immigration advocates working with the families say they also hope the incident will highlight often dangerous work – but crucial – of immigrants in the United States.