Massive Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis
Wed, Aug 1, 2007 at 4:43:48 pm PDT
UPDATE at 8/1/07 4:54:01 pm:
The Star Tribune: I-35W bridge collapses.
The Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed around 6:15 p.m. today, dumping at least eight cars and a truck into the water and land below. It was not clear how many people might be hurt or killed. ...
The collapse left some cars intact on the deck of the bridge, but others tumbled into the river, according to Joe Blade, a resident of the Riverview Tower at 1920 South First St.
“The bridge is collapsed into the river,” said Blade, speaking to a reporter from his apartment in the tower. “There’s black smoke coming out from underneath it at the southern edge of the collapse.”
Another resident of the tower said she heard the bridge collapse. “First I heard this huge roar,” said Leone Carstens. “I was at my computer. Initially I thought, Wow was that an airplane?” The scene that greeted her when she looked out her window was “awful,” she said.
The bridge was crowded with rush hour vehicles when it collapsed, she said. Thick black smoke rose up from the bridge as at least one vehicle burned on the cement below, she said. She said she couldn’t make out vehicles in the water, but there was debris.
“It could be people in the water. It may just be stuff sticking up out of the water,” she said. “They don’t seem to be moving.”
UPDATE at 8/1/07 4:58:11 pm:
A live feed from Minneapolis WCCO.com: CBS Video Viewer.
UPDATE at 8/1/07 5:01:33 pm:
Another live feed: kare11.com - KARE 11 Television :: Minneapolis, St. Paul.
UPDATE at 8/1/07 5:14:00 pm:
KARE has reported that there was no work going on beneath the bridge, contradicting earlier reports.
And Homeland Security is on the scene, which is undoubtedly routine. At the moment, there is no sign of sabotage or terrorism; no one has reported any explosions, and it seems to be a massive structural failure.
