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August 2, 2007
Holy Cornflakes!
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Searchers in Minneapolis combed the Mississippi River Thursday looking for victims of an interstate bridge collapse. Four people were confirmed dead.Officials said at least 62 people were injured in the Wednesday evening rush-hour disaster. Twenty people to 30 people were missing, Minneapolis police Chief Tim Dolan said Thursday, and 30 to 50 cars remain in the river, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner on Thursday morning said the confirmed death toll was four, lower than the seven to nine deaths reported earlier. Officials said Thursday they expected the death toll to rise.
Security camera video showed the Interstate 35W bridge's center section collapsing into the river in less than four seconds. The northern end of the span appeared to drop first and the southern end followed.
CNN obtained the video from a source who asked to remain unidentified because they were not authorized to distribute it publicly.
Gary Babineau was driving his truck across the bridge as it fell.
"I could see the whole bridge as it was going down and as I was falling, and it just gave a rumble real quick, and it all just gave way, and it just fell completely all the way to the ground," Babineau said.
Search operations on the river were halted around nightfall for safety reasons.
A bridge collapsing with people on it! It's actually one of my worst nightmares! The video is horrible!! Can you imagine driving along and the road disappearing beneath you? The whole thing is just a terrifying event! How horrific!
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people who were on the bridge and those that lost loved ones.
Found via CNN.
Posted by Dianne at August 2, 2007 9:08 AM
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Comments
I'm up visiting friends in MA right now. On the way up, we sat for 40 minutes on the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River due to an accident on the bridge. I spent the whole time thinking to myself, "I sure hope nothing happens to this bridge while we're sitting on it. It's a couple hundred foot drop to the river." I am almost bridge-phobic.
I'm glad Jerry is flying up and joining us here Friday, because there is no way I'll be able to force myself to drive over big bridges on the way back after this.
Posted by: cjmr at August 2, 2007 1:24 PM
I'm not a fan of bridges or tunnels, but if I have a choice between the two I go for the bridge. They both make me nervous though!
Posted by: Dianne at August 2, 2007 1:32 PM