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Seven dead as US bridge collapses Seven dead as US bridge collapses
(40 minutes later)
Seven people have died after a motorway bridge over the Mississippi river collapsed in the evening rush hour. A key road bridge over the Mississippi river in the US state of Minnesota has collapsed in the evening rush hour killing at least seven people.
At least 60 were injured when part of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis fell down at 1805 (2305 GMT) on Wednesday. At least 60 were injured when part of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis gave way at 1805 (2305 GMT) on Wednesday.
Fire Chief Jim Clack said seven had died as the structure buckled, hurling up to 50 vehicles into the water. As the structure buckled, up to 50 vehicles were hurled into the water.
The US Department of Homeland Security said there was no reason to suspect the fall of the bridge, which had been undergoing repairs, was terror-related. The US Department of Homeland Security said there was no reason to suspect the collapse of the bridge, which had been undergoing repairs, was terror-related.
Mr Clack said: "At this point we have seven confirmed fatalities, and we expect that number to go up." "Obviously this is a catastrophe of historic proportions," Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty told a news conference.
He added that rescuers did not expect to find any more survivors. Fire chief Jim Clack said rescuers did not expect to find any more survivors after the search was called off earlier because of darkness.
'Catastrophe' The bridge started falling, cars were flying everywhere and I saw the water coming up Catherine YankelevichLocal driver class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6927147.stm">Shock as bridge falls class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6927178.stm">In pictures: Bridge collapse
The rescue operation was called off as night fell, because darkness made it too dangerous to search the water among mangled steel and submerged cars. "At this point we have seven confirmed fatalities, and we expect that number to go up," he said.
Minneapolis mayor RT Rybak told a news conference: "It will be a very tragic night when it is over." The 40-year-old bridge was last inspected in 2006 and no significant structural problems were found, Mr Pawlenty added.
First I heard this huge roar. I thought: 'Wow was that an airplane?' Local resident, Leone Carstens class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6927147.stm">Shock as bridge falls class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6927178.stm">In pictures: Bridge collapse Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, told AFP news agency: "There are no indications of a nexus to terrorism at this time."
Clinging
Traffic had been "bumper-to-bumper" at the time of the incident as only one lane was open in either direction on the eight-lane road because of the construction work on the arched bridge.Traffic had been "bumper-to-bumper" at the time of the incident as only one lane was open in either direction on the eight-lane road because of the construction work on the arched bridge.
Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, told a press conference: "Obviously this is a catastrophe of historic proportions." Tons of concrete crashed 64 feet (20 metres) into the water as the structure crumbled.
He added that the 40-year-old bridge was last inspected in 2006 and no significant structural problems had been found.
Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said officials had accounted for all but one of the construction workers who had been on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Tons of concrete crashed 64 feet (20 metres) into the water as the interstate bridge crumbled.
A freight train passing underneath was crushed as a 500ft (150m) span of steel and concrete collapsed.A freight train passing underneath was crushed as a 500ft (150m) span of steel and concrete collapsed.
'Huge roar'
Some 60 children were led to safety with only minor injuries from a school bus that clung to the edge of a collapsed section of the structure over the river.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a rumbling sound as the structure fell into the river.
Injured people waited for rescue as vehicles dangled off the crumpled concrete and smoke billowed into the sky from the fiery wreckage of a lorry.Injured people waited for rescue as vehicles dangled off the crumpled concrete and smoke billowed into the sky from the fiery wreckage of a lorry.
Leone Carstens, a local resident, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper: "First I heard this huge roar. Some managed to swim to safety.
"I was at my computer. Initially I thought: 'Wow was that an airplane?'" "The bridge started falling, cars were flying everywhere and I saw the water coming up," Catherine Yankelevich, whose car ended up in the water, told AFP news agency.
Divers and rescue boats scoured the water for survivors but the operation had to be called off as night fell because of the amount of debris in the water. "The water was coming up pretty fast, so I rolled the window down... It seemed like a movie, and it was pretty scary."
Chris O'Connell, a Minneapolis reporter, told the BBC: "To call this a catastrophe would be an understatement." Some 60 children were led to safety with only minor injuries from a school bus that clung to the edge of a collapsed section over the river.
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, told AFP news agency: "There are no indications of a nexus to terrorism at this time." Divers and rescue boats scoured the water for survivors, but the operation had to be called off as night fell because darkness made it too dangerous to search the water among mangled steel and submerged cars.
Huge roar
Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said officials had accounted for all but one of the construction workers who had been on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a huge roar as the structure fell into the river.
"What I first heard was a giant rumbling sound from my apartment," Mark Lecroix told the BBC.
"I'm 20 storeys up, just a stone's throw from the bridge itself, and I thought, maybe my own building was coming down, it was an amazing noise. And I look out of the window and I see just the final moments of it collapsing into the river.
"It really quite a while for me to realise that this was not a planned explosion... to realise it was a tragedy."
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