A newly installed pedestrian bridge near the Florida International University collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 4 people and trapping 8 cars underneath.
- A pedestrian bridge in Miami collapsed on Thursday, killing at least four people and trapping eight cars underneath.
- Miami-Dade officials added that nine people have been transported to hospitals.
- The bridge was installed on Saturday and scheduled to open to pedestrians and bicyclists in 2019.
A newly installed pedestrian bridge near the Florida International University collapsed on Thursday, trapping eight cars underneath and killing at least four people, according Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Dave Downey.
At least nine people were transported to hospitals so far, Downey said. Officials were reportedly still searching for more victims and weren't sure if people were still trapped beneath the rubble. Injuries ranged from cardiac arrests and a coma with "severe extremity injuries," ABC News reported. The ages of the victims ranged from 20 to 50-years-old.
The massive search-and-rescue effort searched under the slabs of concrete stretching across the eight-lane highway, with more than 100 firefighters on the scene, along with technical rescue workers, search dogs, and cranes.
Rescuers will likely remain at the scene through the night using heavy equipment to move parts of the bridge little by little, creating "safe zones" in which they can work, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Paul Estopinan said.
Miami-Dade County Police Chief Juan Perez said the police department's homicide bureau would take the lead in investigating the incident, adding that the state attorney was standing by and ready to assist. He said it would likely take days before a cause for the collapse could be determined.
Perez said anyone worried about their family members or loved ones in the area could call 305-348-3481 for information.
The 950-ton bridge was installed on Saturday using a method intended to reduce risk to workers, pedestrians, and drivers, The Miami Herald reported.
It was built to connect the university campus with the city of Sweetwater, allowing students to cross over the busy highway safely. The bridge was initially scheduled to open in 2019, NBC 6 reported, and it's unclear if anyone was on it during the collapse.
"The most important thing we can do right now is pray for the individuals who ended up in the hospital, for their full recovery, and pray for the family members who lost loved ones," Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said on Thursday.
"The road under the collapsed bridge is heavily used by so many people in #Miami This is such a horrifying tragedy," Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a former adjunct professor at FIU, tweeted.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate the collapse.
'Building bridges and student safety'
FIU released a statement Thursday afternoon saying university officials were working with police and first responders.
"We are shocked and saddened about the tragic events unfolding at the FBI-Sweetwater pedestrian bridge," the statement said. "At this time we are still involved in rescue efforts and gathering information."
Just days earlier, the university tweeted a quote from its president, Mark Rosenberg, about the newly constructed bridge.
"FIU is about building bridges and student safety. This project accomplishes our mission beautifully," Rosenberg said.
The university also tweeted a rendering of the bridge:
Officials had praised the quick completion of the bridge, which reportedly finished weeks ahead of schedule. Its construction was part of a $19.4 million project grant partially funded by the Department of Transportation, NBC 6 reported.
Both Figg Engineering Group and Munilla Construction Management, which had partnered to design and build the bridge, released statements expressing condolences and vowing to investigate what went wrong.
"We will fully cooperate with every appropriate authority in reviewing what happened and why," Figg Engineering told Business Insider in a statement. "In our 40-year history, nothing like this has ever happened before."
But media outlets were quick to point out that Figg has been involved in bridge collapses. One bridge project collapsed and fell 40 feet onto railroad tracks in the middle of construction in June 2012, The Virginian Pilot reported.
Munilla was sued earlier in March over allegations it had caused the injury of a TSA employee at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as a result of "shoddy work" on a bridge, The Miami New Times reported.
"The new UniversityCity Bridge, which was under construction, experienced a catastrophic collapse causing injuries and loss of life," MCM wrote Thursday on Twitter. "MCM is a family business and we are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist."
The employee was walking along the bridge in October 2016 when it collapsed under his weight and sent him tumbling to the ground, breaking multiple bones.
This video shows the scene at FIU on Thursday:
Footage from TV networks showed firefighters and other rescue workers rushing to recover victims.
This story is being updated.