'Multiple dead' as pedestrian bridge collapses in Miami, Florida
Several people died when a pedestrian bridge spanning eight lanes of traffic collapsed at a university in Miami, Florida, trapping people and cars shortly before 2pm Thursday, local time.
The bridge connects Florida International University in Miami-Dade County with the city of Sweetwater and was only opened days ago, CBS Miami reported.
The channel showed footage of firefighters climbing on the wreckage of the bridge while paramedics treated several people on the road.
Live footage on CBS Miami showed the bridge had collapsed on top of at least three vehicles.
Firefighters were on the scene and medics were treating injured people. Emergency personnel appeared to be trying to work their way through a hole in the top of the bridge.
Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Alex Camacho said there were "several fatalities", the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
“There are five to six vehicles underneath that are crushed.”
The university said the main 174-foot, 950-tonne section of the bridge was lowered into place over the eight-lane road on March 10.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a collapsed bridge in the Miami area.
Photo: WLPGThe company building the bridge, Munilla Construction Management, said in a statement it was a family business and "we are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist".
"Our family's thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy," it said.
"The new UniversityCity Bridge, which was under construction, experienced a catastrophic collapse causing injuries and loss of life."
The statement said MCM will conduct a full investigation to determine exactly what went wrong and will cooperate with investigators on scene.
The university said staff were "shocked and saddened" by the incident.
"At this time we are still involved in rescue efforts and gathering information.
"We are working closely with authorities and first responders at the scene."
More to come.
Reuters