Miami : The death toll from the collapse of a pedestrian bridge has risen to at least six, Miami police said on Friday as crews searched under the huge concrete slabs which fell onto a busy highway.
The operation has shifted from rescue to body recovery, with engineers fearing the support structures at either end of the bridge could also come down, Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told reporters.
“The entire bridge is in jeopardy,” he said. The walkway, which connects Florida International University to a student housing area, went up less than a week ago but was not yet operational. Ten people were taken to hospital, Zabaleta said, with emergency crews working all through the night at the scene. Video footage on CNN shows the concrete structure suddenly crashing onto the road below. At least eight cars were trapped when the 950-ton (tonne) bridge suddenly gave way on Thursday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Paul Estopinan said earlier. Police detective Juan Carlos Llera said when the bridge came down, it “sounded like an explosion. A huge bang.”
“It looks like a disaster area. It looks literally like a bomb went off,” Llera told AFP.