Breaking: Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis

KSTP TV 5/ME | 8/1/07 | Me

[mylife]

The Pinheads at DU are already trying to pin this on GWB and Tim Pawlenty

[Palladin]

The Chertoff meter is spiking while he runs to the john with major diarrhea.

[dawn53]

A barge hit a suspension bridge (Sunshine Skyway) spanning Tampa Bay back in 1980. The drop was horrendous, but luckily there weren’t a lot of cars on the 1400 ft that collapsed. Here’s some photos.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/FEATURES14/60509005

[ConservativeStatement]

I just heard Shep Smith say “Women and children and others thrown into the water.” Others? Others? Sorry to be picky at a serious time, but “others”?

[wagglebee]

Second. If there were emplaced explosives of the quantity required for demolition of this sort, it would immediately be detectable. In fact you could smell it anywhere in the vicinity, without any difficulty whatsoever. Even well placed shaped demolition charges would be easily sniffed out, and bystanders would be under no illusions about what they were smelling.

Great point. Not to mention, that a terrorist with the ability and know-how (it's not as simple as it looks in the movies) to do this would have gone after a much more spectacular target.

[whatisthetruth]

I am shocked the Twins are playing baseball during this.

Death happens, life goes on!

[MplsSteve]

An eyewitness being interviewed on Channel 4 says she saw quite a few dead persons”.

[Poser]

Good lord! Now they are looking at a freight car and saying they aren’t sure it’s not a passenger car. Are the broadcasters seeing the same images we are?

[advance_copy]

this is a huge disaster!!!!!!!!!

It is (prayers for Americans in the Twin Cities). And I just have not seen a bridge collapse this much all at once before. I'd think that it would have come down slower than all the sudden.

[Abigail Adams]

It was about 94 degrees at our house. Yes it does happen here. I don’t know engineering-wise why it happens, but it does.

[unspun]

I’ll try MS-NBC...Shep is making me crazy.

Shep Smith could be a good game show host.

[Reaganesque]

No, but concrete buckles and that could be a factor. Who knows? Here's a link to show where the bridge is:

Click for map.

Also, the bridge is a quarter mile from the Metrodome where a Twins game is about to get underway. Zoom out on the map and you will see it in the lower left hand corner of the map. Some of the traffic may have been people going to the game. Now there are thunderstorms are moving in. Sheesh!

[muawiyah]

Just now watching the railroad tanker car under a collapsed section, and knowing that AlQaida probably has as many graduate structural engineers as it does physicians, I’d say it was probably terrorism ~ but it didn’t quite come off the way they planned.

[rimtop56]

O Lord, we lift up this situation to you. Please reach in and help those who are still alive to be rescued. Please shine a spotlight on those who are hidden. If anyone is trapped in the water, please lead the rescuers to them in time.

Please touch each person who has been hurt and restore them. We also lift up the families of those whose lives are lost. We release the whole thing to you. We can do nothing on our own. Please show your mercy and great glory in this situation. We thank you in advance for your blessed help. In the name of your holy Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Because it was posted here on FR earlier today and debunked and locked.

[BohDaThone]

Just exactly what SHOULD HS or other LE say at this point?

Media is screaming at them "Is it terrorism, is it terrorism?"

I don't care if they are all Superman, at this point, H + 90 minutes, roughly, any central spokesman knows about what the rest of us know (unless, of course, someone was seen planes flying into the bridge, RPGs, etc).

Isn't the right answer, at this moment, "I don't know, we have no evidence of anything right now, we're working it as hard as we can, consistent with rescue." ?

And would not the media report that as "No evidence of terorism"?

Or would you prefer: "We don't know squat, but we're real suspicious of Muslims" as the stock reponse to any and all disasters (Texas liquefied gas, bridge grates anywhere, highway cave-ins, guys in NYC who blow up themselves and their house so wifey won't get it, etc., etc.)

There are real terrorists, and they do really bad things -- but there are also ordinary human disasters, in far greater numbers (at least right now).

[Bogtrotter52]

Just so you know. I have been to DU and it seems like close to half the posts from minute one are of course blaming it on the administration or bringing the war into it. One of the first postings expressed concern only about if Al Franken was safe. There were actually two threads about that. I am nothing less than disgusted. Here’s hoping that casualties are minimal.

[RatsDawg]

Figures.

Post some links...

[visualops]

Holy Cow!
I’m glad you posted this, I can’t get anything to load.
I was out in my garden and had no idea!!