6 killed when bridge collapses at Florida International University in Miami
Six people have been killed after a 950-ton pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University in Miami.
CNN reports that emergency crews Friday morning have shifted their focus to digging through the rubble for any more bodies and preserving evidence around the unstable bridge remnants.
Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta says that of the six people who died, five bodies still were under the rubble Friday morning. At least nine injured people were taken to local hospitals.
The university says a female student is among those who died.
The structure's 950-ton main span had just been installed Saturday using an accelerated construction process meant in part to reduce the time that street traffic was halted. The bridge had been designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.
It was intended to enhance safety -- letting walkers and cyclists cross a busy eight-lane street with less worry after a vehicle last year fatally struck a Florida International student.
According to a fact sheet about the bridge on the university's website, bridge cost $14.2 million to build.
The Miami Herald reports that the bridge gave way suddenly while the traffic light for motorists was red, so that the concrete span fell on top of a row of stopped vehicles. A woman stopped at the light who was heading westbound said the structure fell without warning.
Video from ABC News:
