Paramedics and firefighters are racing to free people caught beneath the rubble of a new pedestrian bridge connecting the Florida International University campus with the city of Sweetwater.
Seven people were killed during the tragedy, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, with fears of “mass casualties” as reported by one Miami Herald reporter.
Live footage on CBS Miami showed the 174-foot bridge had collapsed on top of at least three vehicles just before 2pm local time, according to local media reports.
The bridge was installed on Saturday from Southwest Eighth Street at the intersection with Southwest 109th Avenue – police are warning people to avoid the area.
Where did the FIU bridge collapse in Miami happen?
The 950-ton 40-foot wide pedestrian bridge crashed to the ground across six lanes of road traffic on the Tamiami Trail, crushing a number of cars, the Miami Herald said.
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost section of US Highway 41 , a 275-mile stretch linking Florida State Road 60 in Tempa to US 1 in Miami.
Florida International University’s new pedestrian bridge had been intended to provide students with a safe space to cross the busy highway from the university’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus to the small city of Sweetwater.
Approximately 4,000 of the university’s students are said to live in Sweetwater.
The so-called “instant bridge” was completed several months ahead of its early 2019 schedule.
Costing $14.2 million, it was funded by the US Department of Transportation and included new pavements, a plaza and recreational seating.
Florida International University staff and faculty members had campaigned for years for the bridge at the 109th Street crossing.
Tragically student Alexis Dale, 18, was hit and killed in August 2017 while crossing Southwest Eighth Street at 109th Avenue, adding to calls for the bridge’s completion.
Where is Florida International University in Miami?
Florida International University is the largest university in South Florida with 55,112 students.
It is based in Greater Miami, Florida and has two campuses in Miami-Dade County and University Park
It is a Carnegie Foundation research university and one of Florida’s primary graduate research universities.
The under-graduate and post-graduate faculty awards over 3,400 graduate and professional degrees annually in subjects including architecture, business administration, engineering, law, and medicine.
Why did the bridge collapse?
It is too early to know what has happened just yet but one of the companies that constructed the bridge, Munilla Construction Management, said in a statement that it will conduct a “full investigation to determine exactly what went wrong” and that it will cooperate with investigators on the scene “in every way.”
It said: ”The new UniversityCity Bridge, which was under construction, experienced a catastrophic collapse causing injuries and loss of life,” the company said. “MCM is a family business and we are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist.”