Washington
CNN
 — 

President Joe Biden will meet with a few of the kin of the six building staff who died within the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge when the president visits Baltimore on Friday, the White Home mentioned.

The White Home beforehand introduced Biden can be assembly with native officers and viewing the wreckage of the bridge, which collapsed early final week after a large cargo ship hit one in every of its help pillars, sending the bridge into the water and choking the port of Baltimore, which sees hundreds of thousands of {dollars} of commerce every single day.

White Home director of intergovernmental affairs Tom Perez visited with the households of a few of the victims final week, describing “inconsolable” kin and the urgency with which officers are working to get better the remaining 4 our bodies that stay accounted for in a twisted mess of metal.

Perez informed CNN in an interview he was in contact with the households and is coordinating with numerous authorities companies, together with US Citizenship and Immigration Companies to coordinate visits to the USA for some kin.

“We’re working very carefully with the parents within the immigrant affairs places of work to establish these wants – and there’s a spread of wants,” Perez mentioned.

Perez famous that the US is engaged in several processes involving 4 completely different nations, along with particular requests from the households, together with some who need to go to the US and at the very least one who needs the sufferer’s physique repatriated.

In an look on MSNBC final week, Perez mentioned some kin have been inconsolable after the collapse. One partner repeatedly informed him, “I simply need his physique.”

“It’s so exhausting. … Essentially the most elementary proper any employee has once they go to work is to return house secure and sound. They usually didn’t. And I didn’t sleep effectively final night time, and my points pale compared to what they’re going via,” Perez mentioned.

“It’s a intestine punch for the president,” Perez informed MSNBC, “it’s a intestine punch for these households. And we’re going to do our stage greatest to ensure we assist them, to guarantee that we maintain them, and to guarantee that the search and rescue operations proceed.”

“We’re persevering with to work with these households and we’re attempting to handle all of their wants,” he mentioned.