Major Mississippi bridge collapses, drops cars into river (Roundup)

Washington - A key Mississippi River bridge linking the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota collapsed Wednesday at the height of the evening rush hour. Several spans of the bridge crumbled, and scores of cars were wrecked on the pancaked freeway pavement or submerged in the river. The death toll reached seven late Wednesday but was likely to rise overnight, firefighters said. More than 60 people were transported to at least three hospitals. 'We have concerns that this will be a very tragic night when it is over,' Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak said. The bridge was undergoing non-structural repaving work this summer, and some lanes of traffic appeared to have been closed at the time of the disaster, possibly reducing the number of cars and casualties. Fire officials said that all but one worker from the construction crews on the bridge had been accounted for by late Wednesday. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty called the bridge collapse a 'catastrophe of historic proportions for Minnesota.' The bridge was built in 1967 and passed state inspections in 2005 and 2006 with some superficial problems but no structural deficiencies, Pawlenty said. A schoolbus carrying as many as 60 children was wrecked next to a trailer truck that burst into flames. Reports indicated that all of the children survived, though about a dozen were treated for minor to moderate injuries. Kristi Rollwagen, an emergency preparedness official with the city of Minneapolis, said that an estimated 50 vehicles were submerged in the Mississippi. Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency workers were at work overnight, she said. Dr Joseph Clinton of the Hennepin County Medical Centre, one of several hospitals near the scene, told broadcasters that his colleagues had seen at least one drowning fatality and were treating six people with critical injuries and at least 22 others with injuries that did not appear life-threatening. Most patients had blunt-force injuries including head and trunk injuries, broken limbs and at least one penetrating chest wound, Clinton said. Rescue workers used boats to try to reach some parts of the bridge and submerged vehicles, and divers were searching the river. The burning truck spewed dark smoke over part of the disaster scene during the first hours, as firefighters used a ladder truck to direct hoses to douse the blazing wreckage. Mobile telephone networks were reportedly overloaded in the hours after the disaster, and authorities appealed for people to refrain from making phone calls. The local chapter of the American Red Cross appealed for blood donations. The Red Cross office is adjacent to the bridge, and the employee parking lot became a staging area for emergency workers. A nearby hotel was designated as a gathering place for families trying to locate people who might have been caught up in the disaster. The Interstate 35W bridge is a central connection between the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. Part of the massive concrete structure over the middle of the river dropped into the water, and other sections appeared to have fallen onto railroad tracks, streets and electric power lines. Downriver bridges were being inspected for possible damage from debris from the I-35W collapse. The collapse occurred about 6 pm (2200 GMT). Severe thunderstorms were looming on the horizon after nightfall, threatening to complicate overnight rescue and recovery efforts. The steel-and-concrete bridge had carried more than 200,000 vehicles a day. The bridge is near the University of Minnesota campus, and the local major-league baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, started a game at the nearby Metrodome, an indoor stadium, as scheduled about an hour after the accident. City officials said that the crowd leaving the game later Wednesday was being routed away from the disaster scene. Thursday's baseball game was already postponed. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Capt. MortAug 2nd, 2007 - 05:14:15

US bridges are dilapidated and falling apart. This was on television last night; before this tragedy. More loss of life on our bridges has been predicted and it seems with incredible accuracy. about 28,000 bridges are unsafe. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

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el-jeffeAug 2nd, 2007 - 06:44:31

probably a 'low bidder' project from the start. i'm sad for the ones who have passed, el-jeffe

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WhysAug 2nd, 2007 - 07:02:16

How did this bridge ever pass inspections??

Negligence, negligence, negligence... soon there will be venom, then heads will roll, then the law suits will come, and all of it rightfully so.

This is both tradgic and pathetic. At a time when we're worried about terrorist blowing up our bridges, our own incompetence has beaten them to it.

I suspect corruption was involved.

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SP4: True storyAug 3rd, 2007 - 14:35:06

Barb Roberts:(libnazi housefrau elected to governor of oregon) Senator, we need 4.8 biillion dolars for the Portland Light Rail System expansion!

State Senator Gordon Smith:(now US Senator) Terrific Governor, what a wonderful Project! It sure is needed. heck ,there must be..10 people riding it!

Babs: Well, it also looks good on my resume; after public service!So, how do we allocate state funds for this?

Senator Smith: Well, last time I looked at the state Constitution, it takes a bill to do this, ma'am. Thats a piece of paper with lots of printing on it.

Babs: Oh, I know, I saw one once! So, whats the 411 on this?

Senator Smith: Oh it's just a walk in the park! By the way, what about the other 4.8 Billion dollars?

Babs: what other 4.8 billion?

Senator: The 4.8 billion for the rest of the state?

Babs: what other part of the state?

Senator: well, oregon has more than one city and county, ma'am. It's not much of a stretch to ask the question about road and transportation needs for them too?

Babs: Like what?

Senator: You know...road repair, bridges, stuff like that...

Babs: they need those too???

Senator: oh yeah, they own cars in Eugene, Medford, even in Pendleton...well mostly pickups there...we even have interste highways that go right through here ma'am! It's even likely you came to work on one today!

Babs: Really? Gee Senator I did not know.

Senator: I know, ma'am, I know...it's really complicated.

Babs: Sennator, my advisors tell me there are lots more voters in the city, and they like the light rail system...well...not enough to ride it...but I guess...they just stare at it...or something... They keep saying if it is just larger, more will ride it.

Senator: and THEY are certainly right ma'am. Gee, you're picking this up fast! I should remind you they've said this all along, and it has never happened...

Babs: oh..thank you senator! Yeah, you're right, but I have an election coming up...

Senator: oh, I know! Golly, your constituants would never vote for you if you did not!

Babs: good! You understand!

Senator: perfectly. Just remember to tell whoever is actually doing your job for you it's DOA unless we get matching funds for everywhere.

Bab's: good suggestion, I'll pass it on!

Senator: You do that ma'am.

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Major Mississippi bridge collapses, drops cars into river (Roundup)

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