3 killed, 4 injured in US bridge collapse

MISSISSIPPI – Three people were killed and four were critically injured after a bridge in Mississippi that was being demolished collapsed Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The bridge, on State Route 149 over the Strong River in Simpson County, “collapsed this afternoon in a work site accident,” according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
“Sadly, there were fatalities as a result of the accident, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones,” the department said in a statement.
Terry Tutor, the Simpson County coroner, told The New York Times that seven men were working on the bridge, using heavy machinery to tear it down, when it gave way and plummeted nearly 40 feet (12 metres). Three of the men died, and four were injured, Tutor said.
The remains of two victims had been recovered as of 7.30pm local time, and emergency responders were working to recover the third victim, Tutor said. “Keep us in your prayers,” he said.
It was not clear who the men worked for. Sheriff Paul Mullins of Simpson County told WLBT, an NBC affiliate station in Jackson, Mississippi, that the four people injured were in critical condition. The sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
It was unclear Wednesday evening what had caused the collapse. A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Transportation declined to answer additional questions Wednesday evening but said that the agency would share more information when it becomes available.
According to the department, the bridge has been closed to traffic since Sept 18 as part of a bridge replacement project. The contractor was in the process of demolishing the bridge when it gave way, the agency said.
An inspector with the transportation department was at the worksite when the bridge collapsed but was unharmed, the department said.
Simpson County, in south-central Mississippi, has a population of about 26,000 people, according to census data.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.