A Bridge Falls In Miami There Are Dead And Wounded

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A pedestrian bridge that had just been installed last weekend on a major Miami street collapsed Thursday afternoon, causing at least one death and eight injuries.

The precast structure connected the Florida International University (FIU) campus with neighboring Sweetwater, and had not yet been opened for use.

As can be seen in the images collected at the scene of the event and according to the authorities' account, the bridge collapsed without warning at 1:50 pm local time, on the busy 8th street. At that time they were Standing below several cars waiting for the green light, they were trapped under the huge concrete slabs.

"I just saw the entire new FIU footbridge collapse onto the Street," said Steven Ippoliti Jr., via tweet. In the images recorded with cell phones, you can see how people who were at the scene immediately approach to try to help the trapped, until the first vehicles of the Sweetwater police arrive shortly after.

"We are saddened and shocked by the events that are happening on the FIU-Sweetwater footbridge," spokesmen for the university said in a tweet. "Right now we are still involved in the rescue efforts and collecting information. We are working closely with the authorities and first aid teams [on site]. We will share the latest news as they are received.”

According to the newspaper El Nuevo Herald, the bridge that has collapsed had been installed this Saturday in a single day using a modern technique that allows this type of structure to be placed in record time. The collapsed piece was about 174 feet long and weighed 950 tons. It was part of a nearly $ 20 million pedestrian project to connect the campus with neighboring Sweetwater above 8th Street and an adjacent canal

Sources of the Florida highway police confirmed to CNN that there is one dead and at least "five or six vehicles crushed" under the bridge.

Spokespersons for the Kendall Regional Medical Center also confirmed to the Herald that eight people had been admitted there after the collapse, a figure not yet confirmed.