A newly-erected pedestrian bridge under construction at Florida International University (FIU) campus in Miami collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 6 people, trapping several others and cars underneath.
https://youtu.be/B7mOvWDuYzI
According to the Sun Sentinel, the 950-ton pedestrian bridge meant to connect the university campus with a nearby Miami suburb, caved in just before 2 p.m. An unknown number of people were trapped underneath it.
First Responders work at the scene of a collapsed bridge at Florida International University (FIU) on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: AP/WTV/NBC6
Eyewitnesses to the incident say when the structure came down, it crushed on eight cars and one pedestrian who had been walking underneath the structure when it collapsed.
A pedestrian bridge at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami collapsed on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: AP/WTVJ/NBC6
While one local lawmaker has earlier reported that 6 t0 10 people were killed when the newly erected pedestrian bridge spanning several lanes of traffic collapsed, officials in Miami maintain they do not know the total figure those killed or those believed to be still trapped under the collapsed bridge and possibly alive.
The chaotic scene at Florida International University (FIU) where a pedestrian bridge collapsed on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: Getty Images/Joe Raedle
10 people have been treated in the regional hospital with 2 reported to be in critical condition. 6 construction workers were also found lying in the rubbles and one was not breathing.
Vehicles trapped under the wreckage of a collapsed bridge at Florida International University in Miami on Thursday March 15, 2018. Credit: Getty Images/Joe Raedle
8 vehicles are said to be still trapped in the wreckage, crushed and basically pancaked under the nearly 1000-ton bridge which was under construction.
A contingent of First Responders comprising of more than 100 firefighters, search dogs along with technical rescue workers searched for survivors under the slabs of concrete stretching across the eight-lane highway. The massive search and rescue effort to find survivors under the bridge continues.
First Responders searching for survivors trapped under the collapsed bridge at FIU in Miami on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: AP/Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun-Sentinel
According to one local Miami-Dade Fire Rescue official, what is complicating the rescue effort is the uncertainty about the integrity of the bridge, parts of which remain off the ground and much of it inclined.
View from a drone of collapsed bridge at Florida International University on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: AP/DroneBase
Rescuers will likely remain at the scene through the night using heavy equipment to move parts of the bridge little by little, creating “safe zones” in which they can work to avert another incident.
A pedestrian bridge at a Florida university collapsed on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Credit: AP/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Michael Laughlin
Figg Engineering was constructing the bridge, a company with a record of constructing big projects for over 40 years. Officials are now looking at serious design integrity, structural issues as well the state of the art design.
The university tweet celebrating the bridge which was deleted after the collapse on Thursday, March 15, 2018.
The bridge was installed on Saturday and had been scheduled to open to cyclists and pedestrians sometime in 2019.
The University (FIU) had posted a tweet earlier on Saturday celebrating the bridge, a tweet which has since been deleted from the institution’s Twitter page following the tragic incident which killed several people, trapped and injured many.
Miami residents watch First Responders working to rescue survivors trapped under the collapsed bridge at Florida International University (FIU) on Thursday, March 15, 2018.
NTBS has launched a full-scale investigation into what caused the collapse of the structure as well as an investigation into the two engineering companies involved in the construction of the bridge, Figg Bridge Engineers and Munilla Construction Management.
Copyright © 2018 Manyika Review. All Rights Reserved.
