Posted August 2, 200718 yr Minneapolis bridge collapses during rush hour Estimated 50 vehicles involved; at least 1 drowns in river; 28 reported hurt Highway bridge collapses Aug. 1: The entire length of a bridge spanning the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis collapses during the evening rush hour. MINNEAPOLIS - A busy highway bridge that spans the Mississippi River just northeast of Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour Wednesday, sending a school bus, other vehicles and tons of concrete crashing into the water. The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. A tractor-trailer caught fire, and flame and black smoke billowed into the sky. An estimated 50 vehicles plunged into the water and onto the land below, the Star Tribune reported. At least one person drowned, and at least 28 individuals — six of those children — were injured , said officials from the Hennepin County Medical Center. Six individuals being treated were in critical condition, Dr. Joseph Clinton said. A Twin Cities radio station reported that a body covered with a blue sheet was taken from the scene of the collapse. It was not known if these two victims were the same person. NBC News reported that every Minneapolis ambulance had been requested to the scene. A freight train was passing under the bridge when it collapsed and was cut in two, WCCO television reported. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said there is no reason to think that terrorism was involved in the collapse, NBC News' Pete Williams reported. "We continue to monitor the situation. At this time, there's no indication of a nexus to terrorism," department spokesman Russ Knocke said in Washington. School bus involved A burning truck and a school bus clung to one slanted slab after the collapse. The school bus reportedly had just crossed the bridge before the bridge crumpled into pieces, and local broadcast reports indicated the children, none of whom were injured, exited out the back door of the bus. Local television stations captured video of injured people being carried up the riverbank. Divers were also in the water. Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that aren't completely in the water. A nursing supervisor at Hennepin County Medical Center interviewed by local WCCO radio said, "We have multiple patients. Some critical, some non-critical.” Police set up floodlights to continue their rescue work into the night. 911 caller reacts Workers have been repairing the 40-year-old bridge's surface all summer along that stretch of the interstate, StarTribune.com reported. The arched bridge rises about 64 feet above the river. Bridge disaster A span of freeway plunges into the Mississippi River during rush hour in Minneapolis. One 911 caller said she could see the construction workers using a jackhammers when the bridge collapsed close to her car. "She saw it and she said she just gunned it and just made it out of there," Tashia Brown, a 911 operator, told the StarTribune.com. The Minnesota Department of Transportation told local media that 200,000 cars a day use the bridge. 'It shook the ground' Ritha Boyle, 22, who said she lives about 200 yards from the bridge, witnessed the collapse. "At first I just heard a big bang and I thought it was thunderstorms," Boyle told MSNBC.com. "Then I looked outside I noticed there was dust coming up from the bridge, and then I saw it go down and hit a train. I saw some cars trying to hit their brakes and stuff like that, and a whole bunch of cars went down." Ramon Houge of St. Paul was on his way home from work at Wells Fargo and was driving on the bridge when heard a rumbling noise, saw the ground collapse and cars go down, StarTribune.com reported. MSNBC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “It didn’t seem like it was real,” he said. Traffic was bumper to bumper and hundreds of people would have been involved, he told the Star Tribune, adding that he saw kids on a bus with blood on their faces. Baseball events postponed Sarah Fahnhorst, who lives in an apartment a block away from the bridge, heard a huge thud and then “the entire building shook. It shook the ground,” she told the Star Tribune. StarTribune.com reported that many vehicles were trying to get to the 7:10 p.m. CT Twins game at the nearby Metrodome. Wednesday's game was continuing. The team postponed Thursday night's game against the Kansas City Royals in response to the incident. The Minnesota Ballpark Authority also postponed a groundbreaking ceremony for a new stadium that was scheduled for Thursday evening.
August 2, 200718 yr A concrete bridge has collapsed into the Mississippi river at rush hour in central Minneapolis killing at least seven people As many as 50 cars were thrown into the river, injuring dozens in the US state of Minnesota Around 20 people were thought to be still missing when the search was called off because darkness posed a risk to divers The Homeland Security department said the collapse did not appear to be related to terrorism Dozens of vehicles were scattered and stacked on top of each other amid the rubble. Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that weren't completely in the water Rescue workers scrambled into the river gorge to help people off the huge chunks of concrete roadway as fire and smoke rose from the wreckage The 40-year-old bridge was undergoing repairs at the time of the accident, and there were reports that construction workers were using a jackhammer at the time of the collapse At least one of the victims is thought to have drowned A school bus carrying about 60 children had a narrow escape, remaining intact despite the destruction around it All those on board were saved, although 10 had to be taken to hospital http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m6.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m8.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m1.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m11.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m7.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m4.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/08/02/bridge/m3.jpg :o shocking
August 2, 200718 yr Author Wow, those pictures really put it into perspective, God bless the families and friends of the victims.
August 2, 200718 yr They are putting the blame on the PIGEONS, is pigeon poo that corrosive :o how random :mellow:
August 2, 200718 yr Christ that must have been so scary being in one of the cars at the time :o :o Amazing more didn't die Shocking stuff
August 2, 200718 yr Author There have been atleast 7 confirmed dead now, and they are expecting more as over 20 people are missing :(
August 3, 200718 yr I found this shocking, security camera captured the collapse :o Don't click the link if you do not want to see the footage of the bridge's collapse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:35wBridgecollapse.gif
August 4, 200718 yr Really terrible. The eerie thing was in Driver's Ed the DAY before we were talking about seatbelts and how some people say that it's dangerous to where a seatbelt in case your car is submerged in water. Our instructor told us the chancers were a billion to one for that to ever happen. And then this happens. $h!t. And all those people missing...
Create an account or sign in to comment