Miami – Pedestrian Bridge Collapses In Miami; Several People Killed

Miami – Several people were killed and cars crushed when a newly installed pedestrian bridge spanning several lanes of traffic collapsed at Florida International University on Thursday in Miami-Dade County, officials said.

“Several people were killed. I just don’t know how many,” Alejandro Camacho, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol said in a telephone interview.

There were at least five to six vehicles crushed underneath the pedestrian crosswalk, he added.

The bridge connects the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to a story that was posted on the university’s website. It was 174 feet (53 m) long and weighed 950 tons.

Television footage showed firefighters were walking across the flattened wreckage 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.

“We are shocked and saddened about the tragic events unfolding at the FIU-Sweetwater pedestrian bridge. At this time we are still involved in rescue efforts and gathering information,” the statement said.

The $14.2 million bridge crossed over a busy seven-lane road highway that divided the university’s campus from the city of Sweetwater.

Gov. Rick Scott tweeted that he was on his way to the scene.

“I will be in constant communication with law enforcement throughout the day,” the governor said.

The 950-ton span was installed on Saturday. The main part of the 174-foot span was assembled by the side of the road while support towers were built at either end.

MCM, the Miami-based construction management firm who won the bridge contract, took its website down on Thursday. But an archived version of the website featured a news release touting the project.

“This our first Design-Build with FIGG Bridge Engineers, a nationally acclaimed, award-winning firm based out of Tallahassee. FIGG has designed iconic bridges all over the country, including Boston’s famous Leonard P. Zakim Bridge and Florida’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge.”

A message left at FIGG’s office in Tallahassee was not immediately returned.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who spoke at a ceremony celebrating the bridge’s construction over the weekend, told CBS there were going to be a lot of questions that have to be answered about what happened.

“Right now the most important thing is going to be to save people who are hopefully still alive,” he said.

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