Vivian Alemán, sister of Rolando Alemán León, one of the five Hispanic workers who died in the Amazon cargo plane accident at Miami International Airport, spoke from Cruces, Cienfuegos, with journalist Alexis Boentes and described with pain the last moments of her brother before the tragedy.
Rolando, a 55-year-old Cuban, had started working at Professional Ocean Service Corp. last January. His sister Vivian recounted that on that fateful day, he was about to finish his shift.
"I was working that day. He was about 10 minutes away from leaving. They were practically about to leave work when it happened," the woman lamented, her voice trembling.
He described the images of the disaster as something he cannot forget: "I have seen the images, and honestly, it's very painful."
Regarding the van that her brother was traveling in, she was categorical: "The vehicle that transported him was completely devastated."
Vivian also revealed an intimate detail that adds more weight to the family mourning. Rolando always wore a medal of his deceased mother, whom he adored, around his neck, and the family still does not know if that medal was found among the remains.
"He was wearing a medal on his chest that belonged to his mother, whom he adored, but we haven't been able to find out if it was found on the bodies," he confessed.
When speaking of his brother, he did not hide the deep bond that united them nor the burden that Rolando was already carrying before emigrating: "He loved his family very much. And the death of his mother was something he could not overcome."
The accident that claimed five lives
On Sunday, September 6, a Boeing 767-300 freighter operated by 21 Air on behalf of Amazon Air went off the runway while landing in Miami, arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The aircraft crossed a perimeter road of the airport and collided with a white Ford Econoline van carrying seven employees of Professional Ocean Service Corp., a contractor for aircraft cleaning and maintenance services.
Five workers died and two were injured. The Miami-Dade sheriff, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, officially identified the victims: Rolando Alemán León (55 years old), Yoel Rodríguez Naranjo (53), Julio C. Pineda (75), Carlos Acosta Fajardo (53), and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo (47).
The two injured individuals remain hospitalized and are: Ridoel Averhoff Díaz (32), reported in critical condition, and Roosevelt Sebastián Perdomo Torres (36), who is in stable condition.
All the deceased were Cubans and worked for the same contracting company, as indicated by 14yMedio.
A third person was reported injured. His name is Eugenio Corredor, 79 years old and of Colombian nationality, who was driving the other vehicle involved in the incident. As of September 8, he remained hospitalized in critical condition.
The two pilots of the aircraft survived and have been discharged, they are: Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37 years old, and Joseph Carol, 55.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has opened a formal investigation to determine why the plane was unable to stop on the runway.
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