Pedestrian Bridge Collapses in US, Kills 10

Ololade Adeyanju/
At least 10 people were killed when a newly installed pedestrian bridge collapsed on several lanes of traffic at Florida International University on Thursday.
Cars were waiting for the lights to change when the bridge, which was installed in just six hours on Saturday, crumbled and fell on the waiting traffic on the busy, seven-lane road.
US Senator Bill Nelson of Florida told CBS Miami, a local TV station, that between six to 10 people died.
The 174-foot ‘instant bridge’ was celebrated as a feat of engineering and safety after it was installed on Saturday morning.
The bridge, which was reportedly built at a cost of $14million, was not due to open to the public until 2019.
At least six injured people were taken away from the scene and eight vehicles were trapped in the bridge wreckage, Miami-Dade County Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, said in an interview with CBS Miami.
One person was suffering from cardiac arrest, Gimenez said.
Television images captured from helicopter show numerous cars crushed by the weight of the bridge.
An eyewitness, Suzy Bermudez, told ABC News she’s been in the line of traffic when she saw the cars in front of her “totally smashed, almost to the ground” by the falling debris.
“It fell on the cars that were waiting for the light to change. All of a sudden, I saw it collapse. It was in slow motion,” she said.
“I couldn’t process it until I actually jumped out of my car,” Bermudez continued, adding that she saw just one survivor, who escaped after the bridge smashed just the back of his car.
President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said today, in a media briefing, that: “Our brave first responders are working feverishly to save lives. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and offer whatever support is needed to the local officials and community.”
MailOnline reports that the bridge was designed by FIGG and built by Munilla Construction, two companies who have been accused in years past of shoddy building practices.
Students at FIU had demanded for months that the bridge be built because of the danger in crossing the busy, seven-lane highway.
Images also show a number of emergency rescue workers crawling along the rubble in an attempt to spot survivors.
It was built to provide pedestrian access from FIU’s main campus to an area that houses a number of student residences.
Two workers were replacing something on the side of the bridge when it collapsed, according to CBS Miami.