At 6:05 P.M. CDT a bridge in Minnepolis collapsed and at this time there are 6 confirmed deaths and 60 injured. I am going to put the article on here...because that is better than me writing about it. This just goes to show how short life is...The entire span of an interstate bridge suddenly broke into huge sections and collapsed into the
Mississippi River during evening bumper-to-bumper traffic Wednesday, sending vehicles, tons of concrete and twisted metal crashing into the water.
Kristi Rollwagen, the deputy director of emergency prepardness for the city, said seven people had died in the incident.
Hours after the collapse, Mayor R.T. Rybak said rescue workers had searched 50 cars.
"Obviously this is a catastrophe of historic proportions," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The Interstate 35W bridge, a major link between Minneapolis and St. Paul, was in the midst of being repaired when it collapsed.
"There were two lanes of traffic, bumper to bumper, at the point of the collapse. Those cars did go into the river," said Minneapolis Police Lt. Amelia Huffman. "At this point there is nothing to suggest that this was anything other than a structural collapse."
At least 59 individuals — 10 of those children — were injured, said officials from the Red Cross and the Hennepin County Medical Center. Six individuals being treated were in critical condition, Dr. Joseph Clinton said.
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.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation told local media that 200,000 cars a day use the bridge.
'It shook the ground'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.
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."
MSNBC
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.
“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 afternoon'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.
So, I am off to listen to more breaking news!
