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| Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapses; Multiple Fatalities Feared | Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapses; Multiple Fatalities Feared |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A newly installed pedestrian crossway over a busy Miami thoroughfare at the Florida International University campus collapsed on Thursday afternoon, crushing cars and killing several people, local officials said. | |
| Between six and 10 people may have died in the accident, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, told the CBS television affiliate in Miami. Mr. Nelson cited no one specifically, but said he had spoken to the university president. | Between six and 10 people may have died in the accident, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, told the CBS television affiliate in Miami. Mr. Nelson cited no one specifically, but said he had spoken to the university president. |
| Lt. Alejandro Camacho, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a telephone interview at the scene that there were five or six vehicles crushed underneath the bridge, and officials said that some vehicles were stopped at a red light at the time the bridge came down. | Lt. Alejandro Camacho, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a telephone interview at the scene that there were five or six vehicles crushed underneath the bridge, and officials said that some vehicles were stopped at a red light at the time the bridge came down. |
| “This pedestrian bridge weighs several hundred tons, and it is still on the roadway,” he said. “I don’t know what is underneath.” | “This pedestrian bridge weighs several hundred tons, and it is still on the roadway,” he said. “I don’t know what is underneath.” |
| Lieutenant Camacho said he did not have a number for any fatalities, but added, “There are going to be several, based on the amount of vehicles that are underneath.” | Lieutenant Camacho said he did not have a number for any fatalities, but added, “There are going to be several, based on the amount of vehicles that are underneath.” |
| The bridge had a span of about 174 feet over Southwest Eighth Street, a major thoroughfare that crosses the county, connecting the F.I.U. campus in western Miami-Dade County with the city of Sweetwater. | The bridge had a span of about 174 feet over Southwest Eighth Street, a major thoroughfare that crosses the county, connecting the F.I.U. campus in western Miami-Dade County with the city of Sweetwater. |
| It had been assembled off-site and moved to the location on Saturday. The bridge was still under construction and was not expected to open to the public until the end of the year, a university official said. | It had been assembled off-site and moved to the location on Saturday. The bridge was still under construction and was not expected to open to the public until the end of the year, a university official said. |
| “Barring somebody using it that wasn’t supposed to be there, it’s either an engineering problem or it’s a construction problem, but that’s why you bring in the professionals,” Mr. Nelson told CBS Miami, noting that the deaths had come tragically soon after 17 people were shot at a high school in Parkland. | |
| He said he had spoken to the university president, Mark B. Rosenberg, soon after the collapse, and “you can imagine the near shock that he was almost in.” | He said he had spoken to the university president, Mark B. Rosenberg, soon after the collapse, and “you can imagine the near shock that he was almost in.” |