Rescue teams are looking for victims among cars trapped in the rubble of a pedestrian bridge that collapsed at Florida International University in Miami, officials said Thursday afternoon.
At least eight people have been transported to hospitals to receive medical attention, said a spokesman with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue at a press conference.
Officials said they’re not certain that people are still trapped under the debris but they are continuing to search. “The next few hours is going to be a rescue mission,” said Juan Perez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
At least one person has died as a result of the collapse, Mayor Carlos Gimenez told CNN affiliate WFOR during a live phone interview. When officials first arrived on the scene, they found eight vehicles underneath the collapsed bridge, said Gimenez, who is in China on business.
A spokesman with the Florida Highway Patrol previously told CNN that multiple people had died as a result of the collapse.
Multiple agencies have responded to the scene. A spokeswoman with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said there were multiple injuries.
The bridge’s span was just installed Saturday, although construction on the structure was not finished. A tactical response team with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is working to secure the bridge while searching for victims, the agency said on its Twitter account.
A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board is on its way to Miami, according to a tweet from the agency.
Yow das crazy… Hope nuh more but dead.