Death toll to rise at Minneapolis bridge collapse

Minnepolis, Aug 3: Rescuers pulled more bodies from the swirling brown waters of the Mississippi River today in what authorities said would be a slow and dangerous recovery operation after the worst U.S. bridge collapse in more than 20 years.

Two boats circled slowly near the tangle of steel girders and concrete while divers searched for more victims killed when the 40-year-old bridge in the Midwestern US city of Minneapolis buckled during yesterday evening rush hour.

Four people were confirmed dead and authorities said the toll was certain to rise.

There was no immediate explanation for why the 500-foot (150-metre) span collapsed.

''A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down,'' said Sen.Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat of Minnesota.

More than 50 vehicles tumbled 65 feet (20 meters) into the river and onto debris from Interstate 35W as the bridge collapsed into a plume of dust, smoke and screams.

At least 60 people were hurt, with broken bones, head, neck and spinal injuries.

Federal authorities quickly ruled out terrorism as a cause, but state and federal safety officials said the bridge's inspection record did not indicate it was unsafe.

Specifically, the collapse raised questions about work being done to the bridge's deck, lighting and guardrails at the time of the collapse.

''What caused this unbelievable, almost incomprehensible tragedy?'' added Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. ''We need to understand that to make sure that this type of tragedy never happens ever again.'' Dolan said several more bodies were recovered today but he did not provide a new death toll.

''People were pinned. People were partly crushed, talking to rescue workers ... telling them to tell their families goodbye'' before they died, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said.

''It is still a tremendously dangerous scene,'' he said.

Waiting And Wondering

People watched the recovery operation from grassy banks and the steps of a riverfront theater.

''It was chaotic,'' said tow truck driver Mike Euhl, who helped rescuers find their way down into the river as victims scrambled to escape half-submerged vehicles.

''These are horrible images but within each of those images is a story,'' Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak said. ''That car you see tangled in the wreckage is someone's cousin, brother or husband. ... Thank God this wasn't worse.'' City officials said the search effort and subsequent clean-up would take several days.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker said investigators planned to rebuild the bridge piece by piece off-site to try to reconstruct what happened.

The bridge had passed inspections the past two years, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said, though it was among thousands of bridges across the country deemed to be ''structurally deficient'' in a 2005 US government report.

''(The rating) was by no means an indication that the bridge was not safe,'' US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said at the scene. ''None of those ratings indicated there was some kind of danger here.'' She said it was the first time a bridge collapsed without an outside trigger, such as an earthquake or collision, since 1983, when three people were killed in Connecticut after a bridge collapse on Interstate-95, the major U.S. East Coast highway.

The administration pledged million for initial clean-up efforts.

''We in the federal government must respond and respond robustly to help the people there not only recover but to make sure that lifeline of activity, that bridge, gets rebuilt as quickly as possible,'' President George W Bush said in a statement.

More than a dozen construction workers were beginning their shift at the time of the collapse. One worker from Progressive Contractors Inc. was among the missing and was feared dead, said the Minnesota company's owner, Michael McGray.

''But we don't give up hope,'' McGray said.

Reuters>