Minneapolis freeway bridge collapses, seven dead

[Toyo]

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota : At least seven people were killed after a freeway bridge over the Mississippi river collapsed on Wednesday, plunging cars and trucks together with massive chunks of concrete into the rushing waters, officials said.

 

Several cars were flung into the river and others crushed as parts of the bridge were sheared off.

 

A semi-truck caught fire after it was sliced in half, while a busload of children was stranded on a collapsed section of the roadway.

 

Some estimates said dozens of vehicles fell into the river, but that could not be confirmed.

 

"At this point we have seven confirmed fatalities, and we expect that number to go up as well," said Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack.

 

He said that more than 60 people were sent to hospitals, and added that rescue operations in the river had been halted due to darkness.

 

"There's too much debris in the river to continue in the river tonight," he said in a press conference.

 

In Washington, Department of Homeland Security officials said there was no sign that the eight-lane bridge's collapse was the result of terrorism, adding that it appeared to be linked to engineering issues.

 

Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said the 40-year-old bridge was last inspected in 2006 and no significant structural problems were found.

 

"They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck may have to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond," he said.

 

There was, however, construction taking place on the bridge "relating to concrete repair and rehabilitation and replacement, guard rail replacement, righting replacement and work on the joints," he said.

 

Images shot by local television showed a disastrous scene of people crouching on bent and crumpled concrete with parts of the bridge submerged in the brown river as smoke and flames drifted from the wreckage.

 

Rescue workers tied with yellow rope waded through the water and used boats to reach people stranded in the middle of the river.

 

A school bus loaded with 60 children with a church group could be seen on the bridge but did not fall into the river as it collapsed.

 

The children were all rescued, although ten of them were taken to hospital, the Red Cross said.

 

At the time of the accident, only one lane of the bridge was open in either direction when it collapsed shortly after 6pm (2300 GMT), right in the middle of the local rush hour.

 

Ramon Houge was driving on the bridge when he heard a rumbling noise, saw the ground collapse in front of him and watched cars go down into the water.

 

Traffic was bumper-to-bumper at the time, and he estimated hundreds of people must have been involved.

 

"It didn't seem like it was real," he said.

 

Those still on solid ground backed up as best they could and he saw kids on a yellow school bus with blood on their faces.

 

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 said.

 

Russ Knocke, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told AFP that there was no suggestion of terrorism involved in the disaster.

 

"There are no indications of a nexus to terrorism at this time," Knocke said.

 

"We continue to monitor the situation. State and local officials have the lead in rescue and response efforts."

 

The 40-year-old arch bridge which rises 64 feet (20 metres) over the river 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, AFP has learned. - AFP/ch

 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../291784/1/.html

[Toyo]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20079534/?GT1=10252

[Typhoonz]

Looks damn jialat man... Makes the Nicoll Highway incident like nothing man...

[Toyo]

Ya lor. very serious

[Typhoonz]

Makes me wonder if our SCDF is equipped should such a thing happen in Singapore?

[Toyo]

shld be. our SCDF always sent teams to oversea for on job training

[Typhoonz]

Let's hope so man...

 

Now whoever is on charge of checking bridges better do their job...

[Mustank]

they better also check the tunnels under the water type one also

[Typhoonz]

Better tell those who are suppose to check things to check properly...

[Toyo]

as well as the trees

[Typhoonz]

After a few people died, NPB are on their toes liao...

[Toyo]

after a while they will just slack

[Typhoonz]

Always like that bro... Then when things happen, they'll wake up a bit...

[David]

The bridge must be damm high up!

[Typhoonz]

Quite high up according to the pic...

[Arcim]

Reminds me of all those huge bridges we see in those documentaries in Discovery Channel...there's this regular programme Megastructures which shows how such bridges are built...the other day saw one built over an earthquake faultline

[Jman888]

 

4 people killed when new pedestrian bridge collapses near Miami, crushing eight cars underneath

 

 

 

[Mustank]

Hiaazzzzzz