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Fox News said:MINNEAPOLIS — Emergency crews expected the recovery operation at the site of an interstate bridge collapse to last at least several days, as authorities lowered the number of confirmed fatalities to four, though they expected the death toll numbers to change throughout the day.
"We know of several people who are pinned or trapped, and at the time we left them — deceased," said Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan. At least one individual, he said, was able to pass along his goodbyes to family members through medical personnel before he died.
The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of repairs when the bridge buckled during the evening rush hour Wednesday. Dozens of cars plummeted more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River, some falling on top one of another. A school bus sat at an angle on the concrete.
"This is not a rescue operation any longer; it's a recovery operation which means we move slower and more deliberately," Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack said at a press conference Thursday morning. "We want to make sure and search everywhere."
Police Lt. Amelia Huffman confirmed four deaths Thursday morning. Initial reports of seven people killed were based on the best estimates authorities had Wednesday night, she said.
But officials expected those numbers to change.
"We have a number of vehicles that are underneath big pieces of concrete, and we do know we have some people in those vehicles," Dolan said. "We do know we have more casualties at the scene."
Hospital officials counted 79 injured and as many as 50 vehicles were in the river, many of their occupants having scrambled to shore. The collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related.
Even so, Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said law enforcement agents would treat the area as a crime scene until a cause for the collapse was determined. "We're not ruling anything in, we're not ruling anything out," he said.
Witnesses Describe Bridge Collapse
Authorities were checking license numbers of the cars in the water. Getting the vehicles out will involve moving around very large, heavy pieces of bridge.
"The bridge is still shifting," Dolan said. "We're dealing with the Mississippi River. We're dealing with currents. We're going to have to do it slowly and safely."
Stanek said at least a dozen submerged vehicles were visible in the water. A train had been passing beneath the roadway and it also fell, including a car carrying a chemical, polystyrene beads, that the fire chief said was not particularly hazardous.
Bridge Collapses in Minnesota
At Hennepin County Medical Center, patients had arrived in a stead stream after the collapse, some unconscious or moaning, some barely breathing, and others with serious head and back injuries, Dr. William Heegaard said."There was blood everywhere," he said. More than 20 families gathered in a hotel ballroom early Thursday, waiting for word on loved ones who couldn't be located. "I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life," said Kristi Foster, who went to an information center set up at a Holiday Inn looking for her brother Kirk. She hadn't had contact with her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night. Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground and some jumped into the water to look for survivors. Fire and black smoke rose from the wreckage. First lady Laura Bush will visit Minneapolis on Friday to console the victims of the fallen bridge.
Teens Describe Bridge Rescue
"Something went terribly wrong, and we have to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can," Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., told FOX News.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the bridge was inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and that no immediate structural problems were noted. "There were some minor things that needed attention," he said. "They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond," Pawlenty said Wednesday. The 40-year-old bridge was rated as "structurally deficient" two years ago and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported. The newspaper said that rating was contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database. The White House also confirmed the 2005 inspection. White House press secretary Tony Snow said the span rated 50 on a scale of 120 for structural stability.
"This doesn't mean there was a risk of failure, but if an inspection report identifies deficiencies, the state is responsible for taking corrective actions," he said.
Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said her agency was aware of the 2005 assessment. She noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation and declined to say what the agency had done to address the deficiencies.
The bridge was fitted in 2001 with a computerized anti-icing system that sprayed chemicals on the surface during winter weather, according to documents posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Web site.
This week, road crews had been working on the bridge's joints, guardrails and lights, with lane closures overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There were 18 construction workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, said Tom Sloan, head of the bridge division for Progressive Contractors Inc., in St. Michael. One of the workers was unaccounted for.
Sloan said his crew was placing concrete finish on the bridge for what he called a routine resurfacing project. "It was the final item on this phase of the project. Suddenly the bridge gave way," he said.
Sloan said his workers described a horrific scene. "They said they basically rode the bridge down to the water. They were sliding into cars and cars were sliding into them," he said.
Officials, Lawmakers to Tour Scene of Tragedy
The entire span of Interstate 35W crumpled into the river below. Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground.
"We were just going down with the force of the collapse," Jamie Winegar told FOX News. She was in a car on the bridge during the collapse.
"I feel guilty. I feel like I'm here and 'Why?,'" she said. "And feel for the loved ones of everyone that lost their lives and are possibly critically injured."
A school bus had crossed the bridge before it collapsed. The bus did not go into the water, and broadcast reports indicated the children on the bus exited out the back door.
Christine Swift's 10-year-old daughter, Kaleigh, was on the bus, returning from a field trip to Bunker Hills in Blaine. She said her daughter called her about 6:10 p.m.
"She was screaming, 'The bridge collapsed,"' Swift said. All the kids got off the bus safely, but about 10 of the children were injured, officials said.
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said he spoke with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and that both of them along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will be flying to the Twin Cities early Thursday.
Bridge Had Passed Last Inspection
The collapsed bridge stood just blocks from the heart of Minneapolis, near tourist attractions like the new Guthrie Theater and the Stone Arch Bridge. As the steamy night progressed massive crowds of onlookers circulated in the area on foot or bicycle, some of them wearing Twins T-shirts and caps after departing Wednesday night's game at the nearby Metrodome early.
Thursday's game between the Twins and Kansas City Royals was called off, but the Twins decided to go ahead with Wednesday's rather than sending about 25,000 fans back out onto the congested highways. Inside the stadium, there was a moment of silence to honor victims.
The steel-arched bridge, which was built in 1967, rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water. The bridge was built with a single 458-foot-long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water that might interfere with river navigation.
The river's depth at the bridge was not immediately available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a channel depth of at least 9 feet in the Upper Mississippi from Minneapolis southward to allow for barge and other river traffic. The site is just downstream from the St. Anthony Falls locks and dams.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I had family that was travelling in that area. I hope they're OK.
