A brand new pedestrian bridge to Florida International University (FIU) collapsed on Thursday, March 15 in Miami, on a six-lane highway.
Florida senator, Bill Nelson earlier hinted on Fox News that he had been informed of a “six to 10 death toll”, but did not specify his sources.
MailOnline reports that the bridge, laid on Saturday, was to connect the buildings where students live in Sweetwater, located on the other side of the highway. The media also said the bridge was not to be open to the public until 2019.
Rescuers still hope to find survivors, according to Miami-Dade Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp. Rescuers “work tirelessly(…) to determine how many victims are to be deplored and saved as much as we can,” he told reporters.
According to the local newspaper Miami Herald, which had devoted an article to it last weekend, the bridge weighed 950 tons and was to be finished in 2019. The mayor of Sweetwater called it a “21st century urban model”. The project was $9.3 million. The published illustration images depict an ultra-modern 100-meter bridge, including benches, air conditioners and bicycle paths.
Florida International University officials issued a statement on Thursday, saying, “We are shocked and saddened by the tragic events taking place on the FIU-Sweetwater pedestrian bridge.”
