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Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapses Near Florida International University

Several people were killed when a pedestrian bridge near FIU collapsed on 15 March 2018, just days after it was put in place.

Published March 15, 2018

Updated March 15, 2018

A pedestrian bridge near Florida International University in Miami collapsed just after 2 P.M. local time on 15 March 2018:

A pedestrian bridge under construction collapsed [on 15 March 2018], less than a week after crews dropped the elevated span in place over the Tamiami Trail in an effort to provide Florida International Univeristy students a safe route across the busy roadway.

The bridge, scheduled to be completed in 2019, collapsed atop an unknown number of people and cars underneath. Police quickly closed the road. It is not known how many people may have been injured in the collapse, which was clearly a major failure of a on-going project not expected to be completed until early 2019.

At 1:57 P.M. local time, a Twitter user shared a clip of the aftermath and described the scene:

According to WSVN, several people were killed in the bridge collapse and at least five cars were crushed.

The bridge had been installed in just a few hours, although it was still under construction. The two companies involved in building the bridge, Munilla Construction Management and FIGG Engineering, each released statements about the incident:

"Our family's thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy," the company posted on its Facebook page. "The new UniversityCity Bridge, which was under construction, experienced a catastrophic collapse causing injuries and loss of life. MCM is a family business and we are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist. We will conduct a full investigation to determine exactly what went wrong and will cooperate with investigators on scene in every way."

FIGG Engineering also released a statement Thursday afternoon.

"We are stunned by today's tragic collapse of a pedestrian bridge that was under construction over Southwest Eighth Street in Miami," the statement read. "Our deepest sympathies are with all those affected by this accident. We will fully cooperate with every appropriate authority in reviewing what happened and why. In our 40-year history, nothing like this has ever happened before. Our entire team mourns the loss of life and injuries associated with this devastating tragedy, and our prayers go out to all involved."

According to reports, the walkway had been built with Accelerated Bridge Technology and was touted by FIU as the first of its kind:

Updates

15 March 2018, 2:33 P.M.: Added details throughout.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.

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