Six killed as pedestrian bridge collapses in Florida

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Six killed as pedestrian bridge collapses in Florida

Florida (Web Desk): At least six people were killed after a newly erected pedestrian bridge spanning several lanes of traffic collapsed at Florida International University on Thursday.

The 174-feet (53-meter) long bridge connects the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to a report posted on the university’s website.

At least eight vehicles were trapped in the wreckage of the bridge and at least 10 people have been transported to hospitals, officials and doctors told news conferences, a foreign news agency reported.

Witnesses told local media the vehicles were stopped at a traffic light when the bridge collapsed on top of them at around 1:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT).

Emergency personnel with sniffer dogs searched for signs of life amid the wreckage of concrete slabs and twisted metal after the 950-ton bridge crushed vehicles on one of the busiest roads in South Florida.