Mississippi bridge collapse kills seven

At least seven people are dead after 50 vehicles plunged into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis when a motorway bridge collapsed.

Dozens of vehicles, tonnes of concrete and twisted metal were sent crashing into the water during rush hour when the Interstate 35W bridge - a major link between the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul - buckled and fell into the river.

Minneapolis city officials said more than 60 people had been taken to local hospitals. Seven people are confirmed dead, but this number is expected to rise.

Dozens of children managed to escape through the back exit of their schoolbus, which had just crossed the bridge and was left clinging to a slanted slab of concrete.

Some of the 50 cars involved in the collapse have been searched by rescue workers and divers. A freight train was passing on a track running under the bridge when it collapsed, and the train was cut in two, WCCO television reported.

The steel arched bridge which carries around 200,000 cars a day had been undergoing repair. Built in 1967, it rises about 64ft above the water, spans 500ft and carried an eight-lane highway.

One witness said she saw people swimming in the water seeking safety and half-submerged vehicles while others said they heard a rumbling sound as the bridge collapsed. Injured survivors were led or carried up the embankment.

Local resident Leone Carstens said: "First I heard this huge roar. I was at my computer. Initially I thought, Wow was that an airplane?"

The US Department of Homeland Security in Washington said there is no indication of terrorism in the disaster.

"It will be a very tragic night when it is over," Minneapolis Mayor RT Ryback said.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty added: "Obviously this is a catastrophe of historic proportions."

Dr Joseph Clifton said his hospital, Hennepin County Medical Centre, had taken in 22 injured, six of them in critical condition.

One man was dead on arrival, having drowned. "Most were blunt-type injuries, in the face and extremities," Dr Clifton said, adding many suffered internal injuries.

More patients, and deaths, are expected, he said.

Governor Pawlenty said the bridge was inspected in 2005 and 2006 and the Minnesota Department of Transportation found no structural defects. Work was being done on the concrete surface, signs and guardrails.

In a similar disaster in June 1983, three people were killed when a section of bridge collapsed over a river on the I-95, the major US East Coast highway, in Connecticut.

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