As of 730pm the search for bridge survivors has ended.

[Stinky The Clown]

Very sad. The Coast Guard said the survival time in waters around 45F is three to five hours. The surface search was intense and exhaustive. At the same time, as many as 50 divers performed very risky underwater searches.

All of this was ended at 7.30 this evening.

A vigil was held for them this evening. In addition to local leaders, representatives of their countries of origin were in attendance.

[Marcus IM]

1. Shocking. Nobody could have predicted such a tragic occurrence.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. It was a matter seconds and inches.

Had the ship lost power sooner, it might have left the channel and run aground on the channel edge, short of the bridge. Had the ship held on a minute longer, it might have missed the bridge pylon and drifted beyond the bridge, The two tugs that were cast off minutes earlier could have gone to fetch her.

[FakeNoose]

2. The rescue divers were looking for submerged cars, am I right?

There couldn't possibly be enough air trapped in a car to keep someone alive for 5 or 6 hours. If the person were trapped in their car and managed to survive the drop into the water, they'd only have 1 or 2 minutes to get themselves out of the car and up to the surface. After that it's all over.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. The situation, at best, was dire.

[jcgoldie]

5. I thought they were construction workers?

Were there also cars in the water that they didn't find?

[Kennah]

6. I read the bridge was shut down shortly before the crash

[jcgoldie]

7. right just heard this confirmed on Alex Wagner show

All 6 missing were construction workers on the bridge. Two of the crew were saved.

[Fla Dem]

8. The video of the bridge leading up to the collision showed 4 vehicles on the bridge.

There were 2 trailer trucks and 2 cars that traversed the bridge minutes before the ship collided with the structure. All 4 vehicles reached the opposite side safely before the crash.

[obamanut2012]

9. No, they were construction workers -- no passenger vehicles went into the water

The bridge tender immediately shut down the bridge when the Mayday call came in. The last car/truck exited the bridge about 25 seconds before the collision.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

10. Very sad indeed.

Any loss of life is tragic.

It was 2007 when a large section of I-35 collapsed over the Mississippi. Many lives were lost commuting back and forth that day. It took much from the local, State, and Federal agencies to come up with the many hundreds of millions to rebuild.

An interesting article about that. The Lafayette Bridge over the Mississippi was also replaced due to similar structural deficiencies and way more cars travelling into St. Paul on Hwy 52.

[link:https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/economy/minneapolis-bridge-collapse-baltimore-lessons/index.html|