Skip to main content
  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print

Sheriff: Bridge debris may hold more victims

  • Story Highlights
  • Crews need to remove "tons and tons and tons" of debris, sheriff says
  • Federal authorities to begin computer analyses of bridge data
  • Free bus rides offered for Minneapolis commuters
  • Next Article in U.S. »
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Investigators need to begin removing debris from the Mississippi River to further the investigation of the I-35W bridge collapse and the search for missing motorists, Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said Monday.

art.bridge.jpg

Rescue divers search for victims of the collapsed bridge over the weekend in Minneapolis.

He said investigators have identified seven vehicles that fell from the bridge Wednesday evening, but he said additional vehicles could be buried under "the tons and tons and tons" of debris left when the eight-lane bridge fell 60 feet into the water.

At least one of the eight people still missing came from one of those vehicles, Stanek said.

Some of the other people not seen since the disaster -- in which five others are known to have died -- may be buried with their vehicles, he said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

Stanek said Navy divers and salvage teams were working at the collapse site. He said salvage operations, with crews working 16-hour shifts, would continue.

He described conditions in the Mississippi waters as treacherous, with divers only able to see 6 inches to a foot in front of them. Video Watch sheriff describe the danger of the recovery effort »

Earlier Monday, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said investigators planned to begin computer analyses to try to determine how the structure fell into the Mississippi River.

Your Rescue Stories

If you were rescued from the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, CNN would like to hear from you. We'd like to bring together survivors of the bridge collapse with the heroes who came to their assistance. If you have a short story to tell, e-mail it to 35wbridge@cnn.com.

Construction crews resurfacing the Interstate 35W bridge reported the structure began to wobble as they removed pavement from it, the severity of the wobble increasing as they took up more concrete.

"We're going to be looking at that entire area where the construction was being done," said Mark Rosenker, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

NTSB experts would be doing computer analysis of the loads placed on the bridge during the construction, Rosenker said.

The NTSB chief said it could take weeks to get a detailed analysis of the bridge superstructure that tumbled into the water.

He said investigators using high-definition cameras from helicopters would be looking at the bridge's north end on Monday to look for clues to the collapse. Minneapolis commuters on Monday tried to get back to work without one of the city's major traffic arteries.

Commuters were offered free bus rides and encouraged to carpool while taking alternate routes to Interstate 35W.

President Bush on Monday signed a bill authorizing $250 million for the rebuilding of the bridge, waiving the $100 million limitation for such emergencies.

On Sunday, churchgoers prayed for the victims of the bridge collapse, both living and dead.

"We remember those who are still missing. We remember those who are badly injured," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told hundreds gathered for an interfaith service at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral.

Before the collapse, part of the eight-lane bridge shifted more than 80 feet to the east in what Rosenker on Sunday called "an interesting collapse pattern."

"We examined as much as we possibly can, and we have not found anything," Rosenker said. "We are going to get, we believe, significantly more clues when MnDOT [the Minnesota Department of Transportation] begins to bring up the deck and also the superstructure, which is in the water."

advertisement

At a news conference in Minneapolis, Rosenker said Sunday the NTSB has started interviewing workers and officials with the construction company that was repairing the deck of the bridge.

Construction took place on the bridge Tuesday night and was to take place Wednesday night as well. As a result of the ongoing construction, only two lanes were open at the time of the collapse. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

All About U.S. National Transportation Safety Board

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print