Bridge Collapse Called "Catastrophe Of Historic Proportions"
(Minneapolis, MN) -- "A catastrophe of historic proportions for Minnesota." Those are the words of Governor Tim Pawlenty describing the heap of twisted metal and broken concrete that is all that remains of an Interstate highway bridge over the Mississippi River.
The I-35-W bridge buckled and collapsed at evening rush hour, hurling dozens of cars and trucks into the rushing water below.
More than half a dozen people died in the tragedy and many more were hospitalized with injuries.
Some of the victims of the disaster drowned, according to medical officials, when the 500-foot main span of the bridge fell into the water without warning.
Some witnesses said they heard a loud, but brief, rumble before the bridge collapsed in a heap of rubble, completely blocking the river.
A Red Cross official says the lives of 60 children were heroically saved after their school bus came to a screeching halt on a buckled bridge approach.
The bus stopped just short of a tractor-trailer rig that burst into flames.
Motorists jumped from their cars and construction workers repaving the bridge rushed to carry the kids from bus and to the safety of a temporary Red Cross facility.
Ten of the children were hospitalized but the other 50 were returned to the arms of their parents.
First responders worked frantically to pull survivors and victims from twisted wreckage and crushed cars.
As bloodied motorists were whisked to hospitals in ambulances, paramedics in boats and divers in wet suits entered the river to search for anyone trapped in submerged vehicles.
As night descended and rain fell, rescuers searched the darkened waters made more dangerous by the ruins of the bridge as well as water flowing swiftly over rapids in the river.
Water search and rescue operations were called off later in the evening, with recovery efforts slated to resume this morning.
This, after one official sadly announced that there are probably no more survivors to be located.
The Red Cross and local blood banks issued an urgent call for blood donations, indicating the severity of the injuries suffered by the survivors.
One doctor said most of the injuries at his hospital involved blunt trauma consistent with falling, but he added that some may have internal injuries that are not obvious at first.
At least one of the victims had drowned, according to Doctor Joseph Clinton.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak told a news conference the bridge was most recently inspected in 2005 and 2006.
He said only superficial defects were found at the time, but no serious cracks or other damage.
He said the bridge was being repaved, and guard rails and lighting were being replaced when the bridge fell.
He said there was no work going on that could have affected the structural integrity of the span, which was built in 1967.
In Washington DC, the Homeland Security Department issued a statement saying that terrorism is not suspected in the disaster.
The Red Cross set up a family center at the Metrodome, where survivors and emergency workers could rest, get food, water and other supplies.
Concerned that rubble from the collapsed span might damage bridges down-river, engineers labored overnight inspecting those crossings.
The National Transportation Safety Board will have a team on the scene this morning to launch a federal investigation.
Meanwhile, the FAA imposed a "no fly zone" within a three-mile radius of the I-35-W bridge collapse.
The "no fly zone" is for unlimited altitudes and applies to all aircraft.
This afternoon's game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals at the Metrodome has been postponed.
Twins president Dave St. Peter said it was the right thing to do, considering the extent of the tragedy and how it impacts the Minneapolis community.
(Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions/Regional News Service)
RNS-08-02-07 0417CDT
