Both the northbound and southbound lanes of 35W are lying in the Mississippi River.
There are multiple cars in the river and a couple cars on fire. According to one witness, there was a school bus full of children on the bridge.
Cars are still on the bridge.
Tons of concrete have collapsed and people are injured. Survivors are being carried up the riverbank.
Some people are stranded on parts of the bridge that aren't completely in the water.
A tractor-trailer is on fire at the collapse scene.
"It is just horrific," said witness Marilyn Franzen, who saw the bridge collapse. Franzen said she saw a school bus that managed to stop before the going over the edge of the bridge that she said was carrying 20-30 children.
The road has been under construction since the beginning of the summer.
Apparently the Department of Homeland Security has been out and they have ruled out acts of sabotage, at least for the moment. Here is a shot of it from the AP...
Damn, that sucks. According to Yahoo! News,
A burning truck and a school bus clung to one slanted slab, while at least eight cars and a truck were submerged in the river.
The bus had just crossed the bridge before it crumpled into pieces, and broadcast reports indicated the children on the bus exited out the back door.
I hope the kids are OK. There is no telling right now just how many people have died. I'm not one to do a hell of a lot of praying but if you do you might want to send your prayers out for these folks.
Over at CNN they are reporting that at least three people have been killed. If the body count stays that low a lot of people can consider themselves extremely lucky.
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