Minnesota Bridge Collapse Focus Shifts to Recovery

Focus Shifts to Recovery in Minnesota Highway Bridge Collapse

Authorities in the upper midwestern U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota are searching for the bodies of more victims after a major highway bridge collapsed and plunged 20 meters into the Mississippi River below.

The Minneapolis fire chief Jim Clack says the operation has shifted from one of rescue to recovery.

Officials Thursday put the confirmed death toll from the collapse of the eight-lane bridge Wednesday evening at four. As many as 30 people are missing, and the death toll is expected to rise.

In Washington, President Bush offered his condolences, calling the collapse a terrible situation. He said the federal government will help ensure that the bridge is rebuilt as quickly as possible.

Authorities say it could take at least three days to finish searching cars that plunged into the river after the collapse.

The National Transportation Safety Board says 19 inspectors are on the scene and beginning their investigation of the collapse.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security say there is no indication of terrorism. Road crews had been conducting repair and maintenance work on the bridge over the last several weeks.

Witnesses say they heard a loud rumbling noise before the bridge collapsed. Dozens of vehicles crashed on top of each other, and a large truck trapped in a section of the collapsed bridge burst into flames. A freight train passing underneath the bridge was cut in two.

The bridge was built in 1967, and was inspected in 2005 and 2006. No defects were detected in those inspections, but a report issued in 2005 by the federal government rated the bridge as "structurally deficient" and in possible need of replacement.

A 2001 report by Minnesota's transportation department concluded the bridge would not have problems with "fatigue cracking" in the future, but it urged frequent inspections of the bridge trusses.

ENDS

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