WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Authorities confirm a fifth death in Minneapolis bridge collapse

Authorities confirm a fifth death in Minneapolis bridge collapse

MINNEAPOLIS - The medical examiner in Minneapolis has confirmed another death from the bridge collapse. That makes five so far.

But look for the number to increase, as divers go back into the muddy Mississippi River. Police say other bodies have been spotted in the fast-moving currents.

Up to 30 people are still unaccounted for, including a pregnant nursing student from Somalia and her two-year-old daughter. The woman called her family shortly before the collapse, saying she was stuck in traffic. Since then, no one's heard from her.

About 80 people were injured in the collapse during Wednesday's rush hour.

An engineering professor at Northwestern University says the design of the Interstate 35W bridge may have actually reduced the death toll. Joseph Schofer says the bridge's underlying arch truss stopped heavy pieces of steel from falling onto vehicles when the cars plunged into the water.

And there are lots of unanswered questions about why that 40-year-old bridge over the Mississippi collapsed Wednesday in Minneapolis.

The White House says a 2005 inspection of the Interstate 35W span found problems. It rated 50 on a scale of 100 for structural stability and was classified as "structurally deficient." But the transportation secretary says that didn't mean that the bridge was unsafe.

Engineers spotted structural problems in the bridge as far back as 1990, but state officials thought patches and yearly inspections would be enough to keep it together.

The span was in the midst of repairs when it buckled during the evening rush hour. Minnesota's governor has ordered an immediate inspection of all bridges in the state with similar designs.

Anxious relatives are gathered in a Minneapolis hotel ballroom, waiting for word on whether their loved ones are among those killed. One man whose wife was last heard from when she left work in downtown Minneapolis says he's hoping "there is a Jane Doe in a hospital somewhere that's her."

Another woman says she's "never wanted to see her brother so much" in her life. She hasn't heard from him or his girlfriend since Tuesday.

Hospital officials say some 79 people were hurt. A doctor at the Hennepin County Medical Center describes a steady stream of patients, some coming in unconscious and others with serious head and back injuries.

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