Minneapolis bridge collapse

[Reaves]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...l?from=mostpop

Doesn't sound good at all.

A FREEWAY bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis has collapsed, sending at least eight cars and a truck into the river.
The four-lane bridge was packed with rush-hour traffic. At least three sections of the bridge had collapsed and there was a danger a fourth might collapse.

Tonnes of concrete have collapsed and witnesses said 20-30 people have been injured. There has been no confirmation of deaths although there was one report of at least two.
There are fears that vehicles may be sandwiched under the main bridge span.
Aerial footage of the collapse showed cars and other vehicles strewn across the collapsed bridge. Cars hung over the edge of the collapsed bridge, trucks were cut in two or on fire and other vehicles lay precariously on collapsed sections of the structure, footage showed.
One witness said as many as 20 cars could have plunged into the water, with vehicles piled on top of each other.

Local television stations captured video of injured people being carried up the riverbank. There was no immediate word on injuries, but dozens of rescue vehicles were there. Divers were also in the water.
Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that were not completely in the water.
The entire span of the 35W bridge collapsed about 6.15pm (9.15am AEST) where the freeway crosses the river near University Avenue.

Witnesses said they heard a rumbling sound as the bridge collapsed into the river.
"First I heard this huge roar," Leone Carstens, a nearby resident, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"I was at my computer. Initially I thought, Wow was that an airplane?"
One witness said she saw people swimming in the water seeking safety.
Huge chunks of the bridge stuck at odd angles out of the river, in places surrounded by cars half submerged in the water.
A nursing supervisor at Hennepin county medical centre interviewed by local WCCO radio said, "We have multiple patients. Some critical, some non-critical," he said.
Asked if there were any deaths, he said: "Not that I know of."
The road was carrying bumper to bumper traffic when the 160m steel arch bridge collapsed. The bridge, built in 1967, was 20m above the river.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation told local media that 200,000 cars a day used the bridge.

Local media said a school bus taking children back to the city from a field trip was among the vehicles involved.
Reports on Sky News said all the children got out of the school bus, although some were injured.
Workers had been repairing the 40-year-old bridge’s surface as part of improvements along that stretch of the interstate.
A NEWS.com.au reader in Minneapolis claimed a safety report last year said beams on the bridge were cracked.
Ramon Houge of St Paul was on his way home from work at Wells Fargo and was driving on the bridge when he heard a rumbling noise, saw the ground collapse and cars go down, StarTribune.com reported.
He said cars backed up as best they could and he parked in a construction zone and was finally able to turn around and drive off the bridge.
“It didn’t seem like it was real,” he said.
Traffic was bumper to bumper and hundreds of people would have been involved, he said, adding that he saw kids on the 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.”

Local media report up to 50 injuries; 3 Dead...

Divers in the water......

[Reaves]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Local media report up to 50 injuries; 3 Dead...

Peak hour traffic, sadly I expect the number to rise.

In 1975 a bridge collapsed in Hobart down here and that caused 12 fatalities, you'd think a lot more people were using the Minneapolis one during the incident.

Fires continue to burn......

Six critical injuries at hospital.......


One drowning victim with more expected.........

Trickle ins expected in hospital over the evening...

[LobsterBoy]

I live in a suburb and can say I've traveled this bridge many times. It's a major bridge right in the downtown area of Minneapolis. In fact, it's only blocks from the stadium where a baseball game was beginning an hour after the bridge collapsed. The game is being played simply to keep the thousands of people from adding to the chaos

I'm still trying to get my head around this as my wife travels this bridge almost daily (she was already home).

Beyond the obvious tragedy the after effects of losing a major highway will be felt for some time.

When I was very young(one to six years) I lived in Coon Rapids.

[LobsterBoy]

I DO live in Coon Rapids!!!

[nikimcbee]

:hmm:

Originally Posted by waste gate

When I was very young(one to six years) I lived in Coon Rapids.

What part of town?

[Mystic]

I, too, had driven over that bridge many, many times over the last 25 years or so, though not recently, and thankfully not yesterday.

Things feel surreal today ... everyone around here seems a little disconnected. I imagine it will become a lot more tangible for me the first time I have to drive into the downtown area hereafter, and get to experience firsthand the traffic nightmare that central Minneapolis is going to be for at least the next couple of years.

My thoughts are with anyone who was on that bridge last night, and with their families.