All Victims Recovered In Miami Bridge Collapse, Police Say

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Police say they believe all the victims killed in the bridge collapse near Miami are accounted for.

"We believe that we've recovered the final two individuals, final two victims, from underneath the bridge," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez told reporters late Saturday night.

Five bodies were recovered from the wreckage Saturday, police said. A sixth victim died at the hospital.

"We're pretty confident that no one's left," Perez said, though he said recovery efforts would continue.

The pedestrian bridge, which was intended to connect Florida International University and the city of Sweetwater, collapsed Thursday afternoon on cars on the busy roadway below. The 174-foot main span of the bridge was put into place only five days before the collapse, The Two-Way reported earlier.

"It has been a laborious, tedious process to remove 950 tons of weight, of rubble, of pieces of concrete, from above those victims," Perez said.

Police released some of the names of the victims on Saturday: Rolando Fraga Hernandez, 57-year-old Oswald Gonzalez, 53-year-old Alberto Arias, and Navarro Brown. FIU student Alexa Duran, 18, was also killed, according to reports.

The Florida Department of Transportation said the university was responsible for maintaining the safety of the bridge.

"Our hearts break for the victims of the bridge collapse," Florida International University President Mark B. Rosenberg said in a statement Saturday. "Lives have been lost. Futures and families shattered."

He said the university "is cooperating fully" with an investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board.

FDOT said an engineer on the bridge project left a voicemail for an FDOT employee reporting cracking in the bridge two days before the collapse, though it was not heard until a day after. However, the engineer, W. Denney Pate of FIGG Bridge Engineers, said in the voicemail that he didn't think the cracking was a safety concern.

Engineers had also held a meeting Thursday morning "to discuss a crack that appeared on the structure," FIU said in a statement Saturday. "The FIGG engineer of record delivered a technical presentation regarding the crack and concluded that there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge. This meeting lasted approximately two hours and included FIU and FDOT representatives."

"A crack in a bridge does not necessarily mean that it's unsafe," the NTSB's Robert Accetta told reporters Friday.

As the NTSB investigates how the collapse happened, the federal agency said Saturday that it identified pieces of the bridge to collect as evidence and was collecting documents about the bridge's design and construction. "Investigators will remain on scene for several more days gathering evidence, documents, and conducting interviews," the NTSB tweeted.</s>The last two of the six people killed when a newly-installed pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University in Miami were identified Sunday.FIU President Mark Rosenberg named Brandon Brownfield, a married father of three, as the final victim to be identified after Thursday's catastrophe."It's a pretty magical thing to find your soulmate in this world. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, our crazy curvy edges matched and we fit together like no one else could," Brownfield's wife of nearly four years, Chelsea Brownfield, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday."I keep trying to find the words to share with you -- our friends and family -- but nothing feels right," she added. "I want to thank you all for your continuous love and support and prayers over the last 3 days. The coming days are going to be excruciating, as we dig deep to find the strength we need to heal. Please keep us in your prayers, as I now have to find the words and the answers to tell my girls that their Daddy is not coming home."Brownfield worked as a tower crane technician for Maxim Crane Works and was killed when the bridge fell on his truck as he was driving to his home in Homestead, Florida, a friend, Ryan Lee, wrote on an online GoFundMe page he established for Brownfield's family.Early Sunday, Miami-Dade Police confirmed that Alexa Duran, an 18-year-old student at FIU, was also killed when the 174-foot long prefabricated span broke into pieces and came crashing down on cars stopped underneath it for a traffic light.Police confirmed early Sunday that Duran died in the collapse. Her body was recovered about 5:12 p.m. Saturday when firefighters removed her gray Toyota 4Runner from the rubble and found her inside.Her family had informed reporters on Friday that she was among those killed when the 950-ton bridge collapsed on top of at least eight cars stopped under the span waiting for a red traffic light to change."Rest In Peace my sweet little sister. Words cannot describe how heavy my heart is," Alexa's sister, Dina Duran, wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. "I would give anything to take your place and all of your pain. I will cherish every memory we've made and will miss you every day for the rest of my life. A piece of my heart is with you. Heaven is a better and funnier place with you in it. May your beautiful soul rest with the Angels my love. I will see you again soon."Rosenberg, meanwhile, called for a moment of silence tomorrow to honor the victims and console their grieving families.The bodies of three victims -- Rolando Fraga Hernandez, Oswald Gonzalez and Alberto Arias -- were found Saturday morning after crews removed two cars from the rubble, according to Miami-Dade police. Another victim, Navarro Brown, died at a hospital, police said.Before police officially identified Rolando Fraga Hernandez as being among the dead on Saturday, his nephew, Jorge Fraga, told ABC News he planned to hold out hope until there was none left."I'm trying not to think he isn't there," Fraga said.Police said Hernandez's body was found about 5:40 a.m. Saturday when his gold Jeep Cherokee was removed from the debris.Authorities said at a press conference late Saturday the six people who died in Thursday's bridge collapse were recovered and they did not expect to find any other victims.In a video statement released Sunday, Rosenberg named all of the victims and called for a moment of silence at 1:47 p.m. on Monday, the exact time the collapse occurred on Thursday."Our hearts continue to ache for the victims of the bridge collapse," Rosenberg said. "Futures and families have been shattered."He said the university has "a sense of urgency about getting to the bottom of this accident.""Right now our focus is on the victims' families and doing everything in our power to comfort and support them," Rosenberg said. "It's going to take time for us to and our community to heal."A total of eight cars were trapped under the bridge after it crumbled, including six that were "significantly entangled," authorities said.Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said the primary goal was to remove all victims and cars in a "dignified and respectful manner."FIU had touted the pedestrian bridge as one of the first of its kind, tweeting that it swung into place March 10.The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the bridge collapse, but have yet to release a cause.On Friday, NTSB investigator Robert Accetta said work crews were applying post-tensioning force on the bridge support cables when the span collapsed, but investigators aren't sure if that's what caused the bridge to fall.Officials also said Friday that an engineer left a voicemail with the Florida Department of Transportation two days before the bridge collapsed, reporting that cracks had been found at one end of the concrete span.The voicemail wasn't picked up until after the collapse, however. NTSB officials are investigating the report, but said it's not clear if cracks contributed to the bridge's catastrophic failure.</s>A total of 950 tonnes of rubble were moved in the search for the victims since the accident took place on March 15

The remains of the six victims who were killed when a pedestrian bridge near the Florida International University here collapsed last week, have been recovered from the rubble, according to authorities.The news was confirmed by the Miami-Dade police on Saturday night, reports CNN. The bodies of Rolando Fraga Hernandez; Oswald Gonzalez, 57; and Alberto Arias, 53, were pulled from the rubble on Saturday, while Navarro Brown was taken to a hospital earlier on Saturday where he succumbed to his injuries.

The family of FIU student Alexa Duran, 18, has said that she was killed in the collapse, the but police have not named her as being among the dead. The sixth victim has not been identified yet. Miami-Dade County Police Director Juan Perez said authorities do not expect to find additional victims but will go through the rubble once more as a precaution.

A total of 950 tonnes of rubble were moved in the search for the victims since the accident took place on March 15. Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp warned on Saturday that the final death toll will not be known until all the vehicles were removed, CNN reported. Six cars have been recovered and at least two more vehicles remain in the rubble, the police said. The bridge was due to be completed in 2019. It was supposed to enhance safety, letting people cross a busy eight-lane street after a vehicle struck and killed a student last year.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever</s>Six people died after a pedestrian bridge collapsed on vehicles in Florida this week and authorities said they do not expect any more victims to be found beneath the wreckage.

"We believe that we've recovered the final two individuals, final two victims, from underneath the bridge,” Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said at a news conference Saturday night. The total number of killed was six, "and I believe that is the final count," he said.

"Although we expected that perhaps we may find more, thankfully, we did not," Perez said.

The 950-ton span near the Florida International University came crashing down on vehicles underneath shortly after 1:30 p.m. Thursday, officials have said.

Five people were recovered from underneath the bridge, and a sixth person died at a hospital, Perez said.

The cause of the bridge collapse is under investigation, including by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Florida Department of Transportation said Friday night that the lead engineer on the bridge project left a voicemail with the department on Tuesday saying that "some cracking that's been observed on the north end of the span," according to the department. But that message was not heard by a state employee until Friday because that employee was on assignment and out of the office, the department said.

The engineer said in the voicemail that "from a safety perspective we don't see that there's any issue there, so we're not concerned about it from that perspective," according to a transcript released by the department of transportation.

Related: Collapsed Florida walkway was built using new 'accelerated' bridge technology

But FIU said in a statement on Saturday that the design team convened a meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday to discuss the crack.

"The FIGG engineer of record delivered a technical presentation regarding the crack and concluded that there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge," the university said, referring to FIGG Bridge Engineers, the company that led the design of the walkway

"This meeting lasted approximately two hours and included FIU and FDOT representatives,” the university said.

An NTSB official said Friday evening that "a crack in the bridge does not necessarily mean it's unsafe," he said, though NTSB investigators made it clear that they had not confirmed whether there were cracks.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, who has taught at FIU as an adjunct professor, said Saturday night that a thorough investigation was underway to determine what went wrong.

"Let there be no doubt: They will know why this failed," Rubio said of investigators. "And they will make sure that that is out there so it never happens again."</s>The main span of the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge after collapsing on March 15, 2018.

Miami (AP) -- The Latest on the deadly collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University (all times local):

A construction firm involved in this week's fatal bridge collapse in Florida was accused previously by a subcontractor of failing to properly design a bridge construction system after an accident in Virginia.

The allegations were made in a lawsuit that was later settled. A confidentiality agreement bars the release of details.

The lawsuit stemmed from FIGG Bridge Group's building of the Southern Norfolk Jordan Bridge in 2012. During construction in Chesapeake, a 90-ton segment fell onto railroad tracks below.

The railroad sued. FIGG and a subcontractor, Lane Construction Corporation, argued over responsibility.

Lane claimed FIGG failed to properly design the bridge's construction system. FIGG claimed Lane was in charge of installing the segment.

The company that designed a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida is the same company that designed the new Interstate 35W bridge in Minnesota, after the old span collapsed more than 10 years ago.

The engineering company is FIGG Bridge Group. Its new pedestrian bridge in Miami was hailed as a technological innovation before it collapsed Thursday, killing at least six people.

FIGG said in a statement that it's stunned by the collapse. The cause is under investigation, but authorities said Friday that cables were being tightened when it collapsed.

In 2007, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, killing 13 people and injuring 145. After that tragedy, FIGG was selected to design the replacement bridge that's currently in use.

Authorities say there could be more fatalities beyond the six deaths already confirmed in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University in Miami.

Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez told reporters Friday he expects additional victims to be found as the massive concrete structure is removed. Perez also said the main priority is getting to the victims in crushed vehicles under the rubble as quickly as possible.

Authorities also said one victim is confirmed to be an FIU student. No identities of those killed have been released.

The National Transportation Safety Board is at the site to investigate what caused the bridge to collapse Thursday afternoon.

Authorities say an innovative pedestrian bridge that failed at Florida International University had been put to a "stress test" and its cables were being tightened when it collapsed. Six people were killed and 10 injured when the 950-ton span pancaked onto a six-lane road.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause.

One factor may have been the stress test that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said crews conducted earlier Thursday.

Sen. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, tweeted that cables that suspend the bridge had loosened, and "were being tightened when it collapsed."

Miami-Dade Police say the death toll is up to six people in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge to Florida International University. Det. Alvaro Alvaro Zabaleta says the operation has turned from rescue to recovery.

He says they can't yet release any information about the victims. He says 10 people were initially hospitalized.

The bridge was not opened yet when it collapsed on vehicles waiting in traffic.

As Florida authorities work to identify the people who died in Thursday's catastrophic bridge collapse, state and federal investigators will begin the task of figuring out how and why the five-day-old span failed.

Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Dave Downey said Thursday night that his crew is using high-tech listening devices, trained sniffing dogs and search cameras in a race to find anyone still alive in the rubble. The $14.2 million pedestrian bridge was supposed to open in 2019 as a safe way for students to cross the busy road. It linked the community of Sweetwater with the campus of Florida International University.

Aerial footage at the site showed a trained dog running atop fallen concrete and sniffing in the crevices for any victims. Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez acknowledged the likelihood of finding more victims under the rubble is slim.

Four people were found dead and at least nine others were injured and taken to local hospitals; officials at one point said 10 were injured.</s>The Florida Department of Transportation is continuing a city-requested investigation of the Capital Cascades Crossing Bridge following Thursday's bridge collapse in Miami that killed at least six people.

Both pedestrian bridges were designed by Figg Bridge Engineers, an international company based in Tallahassee. As of Friday afternoon, the city recorded 128,000 crossings for pedestrians and bikers at the Capital Cascades bridge in 2017 and more than 26,000 crossings so far this year.

Details have yet to be released from the state's investigation launched Thursday.

"Beyond that, we are waiting for more details," said Lizzy Kelley, a city spokeswoman. "While we are comfortable that the Tallahassee bridge is safe, we reached out to FDOT to perform an inspection of the bridge out an abundance of caution."

'Cracking is not good': Engineer called to report bridge flaws before Florida collapse

FIU's pedestrian bridge installation left it vulnerable to collapse until complete, experts say

The Tallahassee bridge debuted in 2016 as a walkway from Cascades Park across South Monroe Street. It cost nearly $7 million with $5.8 million coming from Blueprint sales tax funds and $1.4 million from FDOT.

The deadly Miami collapse is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, among others.

Meanwhile, officials with Figg Bridge Engineers are not commenting on the disaster aside from statements released through Sachs Media Group.

Ron Sachs, president and CEO of the Tallahassee-based public relations firm, said Figg is cooperating with authorities.

"This is an unprecedented event," he said. "No other bridge designed by Figg Bridge Engineers has ever experienced such a collapse. Figg-designed bridges have proven to be incredibly durable."

The company reports working on more than 230 bridges throughout the United States and design work for 35 miles of bridges in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The Miami bridge was part of a $19.4 million infrastructure project and it was built to withstand hurricane strength winds.

According to USA Today, Munilla Construction Management, a Miami-based construction management firm, won the bridge contract with Figg Bridge Engineers.

Figg was fined in 2012 after a 90-ton section of bridge collapsed on railroad tracks in Virginia, USA Today reported. Munilla was accused of substandard work in a lawsuit filed this month after a makeshift bridge collapsed at Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

Neither Figg nor Sachs Media Group offered details on what caused the bridge collapse and instead said the focus should be on recovery efforts.

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com for follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.</s>@GabrielaRose12/Twitter(MIAMI) — Three victims have been found dead from the fatal bridge collapse in Miami after crews removed two cars from the rubble left at the scene, police said Saturday.

The recovery of the three bodies confirms a death toll of at least six from Thursday’s collapse of a newly-installed pedestrian bridge near Florida International University.

Police said four bodies are now in the custody of officials — the three recovered Saturday and one person who died at a hospital. Authorities said this number is anticipated to grow as crews work to remove more cars trapped under the rubble.

A total of eight cars were trapped under the bridge after it crumbled, including six that were “significantly entangled,” authorities said. Two of those heavily-trapped cars were removed this morning and crews are working to remove two more now, officials said.

Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said Saturday that the primary goal is to remove all victims and cars in a “dignified and respectful manner.”

He said crews worked through the night to remove the two cars this morning and will continue the effort until all victims and cars are recovered.

FIU had touted the pedestrian bridge as one of the first of its kind, tweeting that it swung into place March 10.

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.</s>Authorities today released the names of four people who died from the collapse of a newly-installed pedestrian bridge in Miami.Three victims -- Rolando Fraga Hernandez, Oswald Gonzalez and Alberto Arias -- were found this morning after crews removed two cars from the rubble left at the scene, Miami-Dade police said today.The fourth identified victim, Navarro Brown, died at a hospital, police said.Fraga Hernandez's nephew, Jorge Fraga, had told ABC News earlier today that he was holding out hope."I'm hoping. This morning I called a few hospitals around -- nothing. But I'm trying not to think he isn't there," Fraga said.Authorities said at least six people died from Thursday's bridge collapse near Florida International University. The recovery effort was still ongoing.The four victims who have been identified are those whose bodies have been recovered; however, authorities said the death toll is expected to increase to grow as crews work to remove more cars trapped under the rubble.A total of eight cars were trapped under the bridge after it crumbled, including six that were "significantly entangled," authorities said. Two of those heavily-trapped cars were removed this morning and crews are working to remove two more now, officials said.Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said the primary goal is to remove all victims and cars in a "dignified and respectful manner."He said crews worked through the night to remove the two cars this morning and will continue the effort until all victims and cars are recovered.FIU had touted the pedestrian bridge as one of the first of its kind, tweeting that it swung into place March 10.The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.</s>@GabrielaRose12/Twitter(MIAMI) — Three victims have been found dead from the fatal bridge collapse in Miami after crews removed two cars from the rubble left at the scene, police said Saturday.

The recovery of the three bodies confirms a death toll of at least six from Thursday’s collapse of a newly-installed pedestrian bridge near Florida International University.

Police said four bodies are now in the custody of officials — the three recovered Saturday and one person who died at a hospital. Authorities said this number is anticipated to grow as crews work to remove more cars trapped under the rubble.

A total of eight cars were trapped under the bridge after it crumbled, including six that were “significantly entangled,” authorities said. Two of those heavily-trapped cars were removed this morning and crews are working to remove two more now, officials said.

Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said Saturday that the primary goal is to remove all victims and cars in a “dignified and respectful manner.”

He said crews worked through the night to remove the two cars this morning and will continue the effort until all victims and cars are recovered.Jorge Fraga believes his uncle, Rolando Fraga Hernandez, may have been killed in the collapse.

“We don’t know anything,” Fraga told ABC News, describing the situation as “terrible” and “overwhelming.”

But he said he still has hope.

“I’m hoping. This morning I called a few hospitals around — nothing. But I’m trying not to think he isn’t there,” Fraga said.

FIU had touted the pedestrian bridge as one of the first of its kind, tweeting that it swung into place March 10.

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.</s>Following an around-the-clock rescue effort at the site of a collapsed footbridge in Miami, Florida, authorities said late Saturday that the sixth and final victim had been recovered from the debris ― more than two days after the sudden collapse of the 950-ton structure.

Juan Perez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said at a press conference that the remains of five people had been pulled from the rubble on Saturday — bringing the total number of people killed in the collapse to six.

Perez said rescuers would be scouring the wreckage again to ensure that no other victims are buried, but said he was “confident that no one’s left.”

Video captured Saturday at the site of the collapsed bridge, located near the campus of Florida International University, showed rescue workers removing slabs of concrete and other materials in an effort to reach the vehicles and victims trapped below.

At least eight cars were partially or completely crushed by the bridge when it suddenly crumpled on Thursday. Footage captured by a Miami Herald reporter showed “unrecognizable” vehicles being pulled from the rubble.

“They didn’t stop,” Perez said of rescue crews, who have worked tirelessly since the bridge collapsed. “The only pause from the rescuers was when we asked them to pause so that we could pray over every victim.”

#Breaking: Authorities just confirmed that there were 3 bodies in 2 vehicles pulled out from under the bridge this morning. These three are part of the six confirmed deaths. @MiamiHerald #FIUBridge #FIUBridgecollapse pic.twitter.com/x9oDxWiUUP — Monique O. Madan (@MoniqueOMadan) March 17, 2018

Police have identified four victims: Oswald Gonzalez, 57; Alberto Arias, 53; Rolando Fraga Hernandez; and Navarro Brown, who had been working on the bridge at the time of the collapse.

Alexa Duran, an 18-year-old FIU student, was identified by her family as one of the victims.

Rolando Fraga, 60, was among those killed in the #FIUBridgecollapse. The day before the accident, he shared a quote in Spanish on his FB page: “Nothing is forever. Coffee gets cold, people leave, time passes and people change.” @MiamiHerald #FIUBridge pic.twitter.com/PKqx988MXW — Monique O. Madan (@MoniqueOMadan) March 17, 2018

In the days before the accident, a crack in the structure had been noticed and reported to state officials by a lead engineer for FIGG Bridge Group, the company that designed the walkway. The engineer said at the time, however, that safety was not a concern.
The Miami Police Department states that they believe they have recovered the last of the victims killed by the bridge's collapse.