35W Bridge Collapse - Videos & Photos

Wow. The Star Tribune has outdone itself! Now you can find out what happened to everyone on the bridge by clicking on each vehicle in this photo (you can watch or skip the video introduction) of the collapsed bridge.

The photo shows the 35W bridge and each vehicle involved in the bridge collapse. When you click on a vehicle, a photo of the people in the vehicle pops up with an explanation of what happened to them when the bridge collapsed.

Minnesota Chaplains provided an invisible, yet vital, role in comforting and consoling those at the scene of the tragedy.

Moments after the 35W bridge collapsed, a team of chaplains from the Midwest Chaplains went to the bridge site to provide comfort and care for

• those involved in the tragedy,
• those who waited near the river for their loved ones involved in the accident, and
• emergency personnel who were overcome with sadness and grief.

For days the Midwest Chaplains provided compassion and a shoulder to cry on.

Chaplain Dan Hall interviewed bridge survivors Kristen and Scott West on the Jeff & Lee radio show on 8-31-07, which you can download and listen to here.

The chaplains have received little credit or thanks for their days of volunteering, so please join me in expressing some appreciation for the Midwest Chaplains.

Photos: Five chaplains from Midwest Chaplains pray at the 35W Bridge site after consoling families who were waiting for loved ones to be found.

Here are the latest announcements and news regarding the 35W Bridge Collapse tragedy.

• I-35W Emergency Hardship Relief Fund. Those who would like to make claims to the I-35W Emergency Hardship Relief Fund can receive more information by calling the claims help line at 612-766-3920.
• Victim Photos. You can view photos of the 35W Bridge tragedy victims here.
• Latest 35W Bridge News from Star Tribune. The Star Tribune’s latest articles on the 35W bridge incident, subsequent lawsuits, efforts to rebuild the bridge, the status of victims, and the impact on Minnesota can be found here.

In this security camera video you can see the 35W bridge collapse. Notice how sections of the bridge fail under the weight of the afternoon rush-hour traffic.

Caution: The video is filmed from a distance, so individual people cannot be seen. However, this video still may be disturbing to some, since the video presents an event that resulted in the death of a number of people.

For those who missed it, you can see an aerial view of the 35W bridge before it collapsed on Google Maps. Please note that Google Maps will eventually update its photos, which are taken from satellites, so this image will not remain permanently. Visit the photo on Google Maps.

Here is aerial video footage of the 35W bridge shortly after it collapsed.

This is a collection of photos of the 35W bridge. The first box is a slide show of some photos. Next are links to photos of the bridge on other sites that covered the 35W bridge tragedy.

Read the rest of this entry »

In two of these photos of the 35W collapsed bridge in Minneapolis you can see the school bus.  These photos were taken August 2.

The school bus that was on the bridge when it collapsed can be seen here

These cars were on the edge of a crack in the bridge during the collapse

Cars on the 35W bridge can be seen here. One truck is hanging off the bridge over a crack that appeared after the collapse

This portion of the 35W bridge lays in the water.

Here, the 35W bridge dropped onto the river bank

Safety personnel review the 35W bridge after the collapse near the Mississippi river

Here are some recent photos, taken August 2, of the 35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis. The photos are high-resolution so you can zoom in to see various aspects of the bridge and Minneapolis, but unfortunately this also makes the photos slow to download.

The 35W bridge  after the collapse can be seen here with the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the background Read the rest of this entry »

“It was the worst thing I’ve seen in my entire life,” recounts one victim of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Over 50 cars plummeted as the bridge collapsed. Cars floated down the river while other vehicles hung from the bridge. Screams echoed across on the river. Emergency workers and bystanders tried to reach the victims. Read more at the Star Tribune.

A number of eye-witnesses to the 35W bridge accident have submitted photos to KARE 11’s website like this one below.

On Wednesday, August 1, during the evening rush hour, the Interstate 35W bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed.

Within minutes, all Minneapolis television news stations were covering the event. The 5 Eyewitness News helicopter was first to arrive showing the collapsed bridge, vehicles burning, vehicles in the water, injured people laying on the bridge, some people hobbling away, and others helping them.

Minneapolis police and fire rescuers were on the scene almost immediately. The Minneapolis police station is within a mile of the collapsed bridge.

The story is currently being covered by these Minneapolis news outlets:

• Minneapolis Star Tribune
• St. Paul Pioneer Press
• KARE 11 TV News
• FOX 9 TV News
• KMSP 5 Eyewitness News (TV)
• WCCO4 TV News

National news outlets are also covering the bridge collapse story:

• CNN News
• USA Today
• Drudge Report

News reports indicated that a school bus was included in the vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed. A short time later, the bus could be seen from a TV news helicopter. According to news reports, the children were evacuated from the bus. News sources have not yet reported the condition of the children.

UPDATE: The children in the bus have been released from the hospital and reunited with their parents. Read more at KARE 11.

Hours ago the 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed. Hospitals were notified. In less than an hour, the first of the injured started arriving at hospitals. Soon, local hospitals were overloaded as ambulances rushed injured people to emergency rooms.

The Hennepin County Medical Center has reported a short time ago that six people are dead and 38 people are injured.

Read more about the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

You can see the Minneapolis bridge on Interstate 35W before it collapsed during rush hour Wednesday, August 1, 2007 here: Google Map of 35W Bridge Collapse.

The bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. CST. The collapse occurred during rush hour traffic when traffic was bumper-to-bumper, moving about 10 m.p.h. Cars, trucks, and even a school bus full of children were involved in the bridge collapse. According to news reports the children were evacuated from the school bus.

The bridge in Minneapolis on Interstate 35W that collapsed is 64 feet above the water. The bridge spans the Mississippi River. Its design was relatively unique because the bridge was entirely one piece spanning the river without support in the river. The bridge was built in 1967.

It is no surprise that Minneapolis Police and Fire personnel immediately arrived to help the bridge collapse victims. But it didn’t stop there.

Soon, from across the Twin Cities and its neighboring cities, police and fire personnel came to help. But it didn’t stop there. Volunteer fire fighters joined them.

Even more impressive, private security personnel arrived at the scene to help the bridge collapse victims.

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, a bridge on Interstate 35-W collapsed. The bridge is located just outside of the downtown area in Minneapolis. As the bridge fell, it was packed with vehicles leaving downtown Minneapolis during rush hour traffic. Many people are expected to have died and been injured. The fatality count has not yet stopped.

Read the latest news and information here: Minneapolis bridge collapse.